Offshore Wind Time To Retest A Blade

Vineyard Wind Blades Should Require Retest On 2 Month Anniversary

On July 13, 2024, one of Vineyard Wind's turbine blades suffered a catastrophic failure, with part falling into the ocean and disbursing hundreds of chunks of fiberglass and foam insulation that ended up as far away as Rhode Island.

The blade was a new hybrid blade, unlike any other manufacturer.

In 2019, GE Renewable Energy and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) announced the arrival of a blade part of the industry's most powerful offshore wind turbine at MassCEC’s Wind Technology Testing Center (WTTC) in Boston. The 107-meter blade will undergo a series of fatigue tests that involve moving it millions of times for a few months to validate that it can withstand more than 25 years of operation at sea.

The certification of the prototype blade allowed the mass production of 150 blades in Canada.

In the MassCEC testing center in 2020, they had to cut part of the prototype blade off to fit it in the 90-meter building. While blades can be tested without the tip, it is not ideal, and engineers need to account for the adjusted weight.

As of May 2024 recent upgrades at MassCEC WTTC, funded by WETO, enable the facility to receive and evaluate blades up to 120 meters (393 feet) long. The improved testing capability helps expedite the deployment of offshore wind power.

One of the Canadian-manufactured blades should undergo a new test at the upgraded MassCEC Wind Testing Facility without cutting any parts off the blade.