Following reports of debris from Vineyard Wind's broken turbine blade washing ashore on Cape Cod, the company has stated there is no evidence of related flotsam on local beaches.
A GE Vernova blade experienced catastrophic failure on 13 July, sending fragments of fiberglass, foam, and balsa wood into the ocean. Consequently, debris has been found on south-facing beaches on Nantucket, Tuckernuck, and Muskeget. However, Vineyard Wind insists that no positively identified debris has been found on south- or east-facing beaches on Cape Cod.
Vineyard Wind spokesperson Craig Gilvarg reported that the company received reports of "ribbon-like debris" resembling fiberglass on Centerville's Craigville Beach on Wednesday morning. In response, personnel conducted searches of multiple beaches in Barnstable, including Craigville Beach, Long Beach, Covell Beach, Loop Beach, Fortes Beach, Keyes Beach, and Kalmus Beach, but found no evidence of debris from the damaged blade.
"No debris was found," said Gilvarg, adding that "personnel did identify some stringy-ribbon pieces of bleached seaweed, but that material was not fiberglass or other debris associated with the blade."
Further searches were conducted on Thursday, surveying south-facing beaches across Cape Cod, including Dowses Beach, Craigville Beach, Long Beach, Covell Beach, Loop Beach, Fortes Beach, Keyes Beach, Kalmus Beach, and Veterans Beach â all within Barnstable. Again, no debris related to the broken blade was found.
Gilvarg confirmed that the company has also been in contact with other towns on Cape Cod, including Chatham and Truro, and "at this time have found no instances of debris washing ashore on Cape Cod." However, he did confirm that some debris was recovered from the water approximately 3.5 miles southeast of Monomoy Island in Chatham, and that the company had advised Truro over the weekend of the potential for debris coming ashore there.
Despite the company's claims, some residents remain unconvinced. Centerville resident Sandy Jones, a member of the grassroots organisation Barnstable Speaks, reported that a fellow resident had given her what appeared to be a fragment of white-green fiberglass, claiming it was found on Kalmus Beach on 19 July. Jones also stated that she had "collected the seaweed that they are referring to," but expressed doubt about its nature and suggested that residents are planning to have both the ribbon-like material and the suspected fiberglass fragment analysed by an off-Cape laboratory.
Barnstable resident Cliff Carroll also observed and photographed white, fiberglass-like strands on Craigville Beach that were reported to the town as possible blade debris. While acknowledging that the nature of the debris is uncertain, Carroll argued that the bigger picture is that debris from the broken blade has travelled far from the turbine on ocean currents, highlighting what he and other concerned residents have been pointing out as "the multiple threats presented by these projects, both on and offshore."
"We are lucky it wasn't the transformer oil," he pointed out, raising concerns about the potential consequences of large-scale oil spills from the project's offshore infrastructure or from the land-based substation in Independence Park, Barnstable.
"The risks presented both offshore and onshore are too great," he said, adding that "the Cape, Islands and coastal Tribal lands have been left completely exposed to the economic and environmental damages this project presents. Our fishing grounds and beaches are not renewable."
In response to the ongoing debate, Agnes Mittermayr, a marine ecologist with the Seafloor Mapping Program at the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, stated that without a sample of the white, ribbon-like debris, it is impossible to determine if it is actually wrack. However, she noted that "eelgrass (Zostera marina), our local seagrass species, is a ribbon-like seagrass that often washes up on shore after storms."
Mittermayr also pointed out that eelgrass can lose its chlorophyll in high temperatures and turn yellowish-white.
Nicole Corbett, founder of the Popponesset Water Stewardship Alliance and an expert on invasive seaweed species in waters around Mashpee and Barnstable, also suggested that the ribbon-like debris could be Zostera marina.
"It's in Nantucket Sound right now. This is the time of year it starts to shed. It's all white because it's dead," she explained, noting that she observed both green and white specimens on Popponesset Beach in Mashpee on Thursday afternoon.
While not positively identifying the debris as seaweed without examining samples, Corbett confirmed that a lot of whitened eelgrass has been washing up recently.
"The timing of the eelgrass shedding and the Vineyard Wind mechanical issues just happened to line up," she said, adding that since they have a similar appearance, it's possible "the white grass strands could be mistaken for fiberglass."
As the investigation continues, residents remain vigilant, questioning the company's claims and expressing concern about the potential environmental impact of the project.