Barstool Sports boss Dave Portnoy is furious over a wind farm malfunction that shut down the beaches of Nantucket.
A windmill blade from the offshore Vineyard Wind wind farm reportedly broke, after which its damaged parts washed up ashore on the beaches of Nantucket Island, according to various sources.
This led to the Nantucket Harbormaster announcing on Tuesday that most of the Nantucket beach was closed to visitors.
“All south shore beaches are closed to swimming, due to large floating debris and sharp fiberglass shards,” the Harbormaster announced on Facebook.
Look:
All south shore beaches are closed to swimming, due to large floating debris and sharp fiberglass shards. Please go to…
Posted by Nantucket Harbormaster on Tuesday, July 16, 2024
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Portnoy, a Nantucket homeowner, was not pleased.
He told Fox News that there should be a “one-strike you’re out policy” for wind farms and that Vineyard Wind in particular “should no longer be allowed to operate these windmills.”
“Everybody wants a healthy planet, but when the ones advocating for a green planet are the ones damaging it, it makes you pause,” he added, referencing the fact that wind farms are ostensibly designed to help the planet.
Portnoy also suggested that Vineyard Wind should “be forced to refund every person who rented a house on Nantucket for as long as the beaches are closed.”
“Families save up for years to take a vacation to Nantucket only to have it ruined by negligence,” he continued. “Also, there is no telling how much sea life will be affected.”
New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association CEO Jerry Leeman was also bothered by what happened, telling Fox News that “the scariest thing” is that “it could happen again.”
“As a fisherman, I know how powerful and volatile the North Atlantic is,” he said. “If this blade fell off on a beautiful summer day, what would happen during a winter squall or a hurricane?”
Good question.
He continued by warning that the environmental impact of this mishap could be “tragic.”
“Shards of fiberglass, which are not biodegradable, are a huge threat to whales, dolphins, and porpoises, some of which are endangered,” he said. “Nanoparticles from the fiberglass could even enter the food web if zooplankton mistake particles for forage. This slow-rolling disaster is a serious threat to fishery sustainability.”
Vineyard wind turbine blade breaks off causing several beaches along Nantucket to close. Fiber glass and debris from blades are washing up on shore. Wind energy is so much cleaner it shuts down beaches. Do you think washing wildlife with Dawn dish soap will remove fiberglass? pic.twitter.com/MAnaHq16zR
— SweetieGoat (@sweetiegoat1776) July 17, 2024
In a statement to Fox News, the wind farm claimed it “deployed services vessels immediately to recover three large blade pieces from the ocean” and that “debris of non-toxic blade material has washed up on Nantucket beaches and are being recovered.”
“The cause of the breakage is unknown at this time. GE, as the project’s turbine and blade manufacturer and installation contractor, will now be conducting the analysis into the root cause of the incident,” Vineyard Wind said.
The good news is that after the mishap, the federal Bureau of Safety and Environment Enforcement “issued a suspension order to Vineyard Wind to cease power production from all its wind turbine generators until it can be determined whether the blade failure affects any other VW turbines,” a spokesperson told the Cape Cod Times.
The bad news is that there are still some problems:
Good morning from Vineyard Wind turbine AW38.
This is the damaged turbine blade that has sent thousands of pieces of fiberglass & foam core onto Nantucket’s south shore.
The damaged blade is now in danger of detaching and falling into the sea. More debris came loose last night pic.twitter.com/oBA3FUXxKJ
— Nantucket Current (@ACKCurrent) July 18, 2024
In a lengthy statement, Rhode Island State Rep. Patricia L. Morgan responded to the mishap by slamming the wind farm industry.
“Wind energy is a failed technology that is not capable of fueling our modern society and it has now demonstrated that these gigantic turbine blades cannot operate safely in the ocean environment,” she said.
“The first turbine came into service in early January. It was shut down within days and only in the last month have ten turbines been put into service. Despite only operating for one short month, the turbine blades are shredding, sending fiberglass shards flying at high speed into the oceans, filling the water with dangerous flotsam and chemical waste,” she added.
“Marine mammals and fish are at risk. As they filter water through their gills or swallow fiberglass-filled water as they feed, they are in danger. On shore, people have been banned from the sand, their feet would likely be stabbed and cut by the fiberglass projectiles. The warning could not be more clear,” she concluded.
Look:
My statement on the Vineyard Wind turbine failure that has closed Nantucket beaches and threatens the marine life in our ocean. This is a warning we must heed before irreparable damage is done! pic.twitter.com/cRHpcACjYk
— Patricia Morgan (@repmorgan) July 17, 2024
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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