State of Massachusetts Blade Testing Liability
In 2011, the State of Massachusetts spent 40 million in taxpayer funds to build the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, Wind Technology Testing Center, in Charlestown. The purpose of the 290-foot test site was to test the long-term durability, structural integrity, and performance of large-scale wind turbine blades, primarily for offshore wind projects.
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In 2019, GE Renewable Energy delivered a single 107-meter (351-foot) prototype hybrid blade from France to the Massachusetts Wind Technology Testing Center (WTTC) for testing.
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The single 107-meter (351-foot) prototype hybrid blade was tested for the future production of Vineyard Wind's installation of 62 offshore wind turbines, totaling 186 blades.
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The prototype blade did not fit in the test center, so technicians cut 50 feet off it to get it into the building. A torsion test was not done on the blade. To pass the test, figures were extrapolated (made up).
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Of note, testing of the 107-meter GE blade in Charlestown continued during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the required in-person testing of the blade for certification was done via video amid pandemic restrictions. Modified procedures were used in testing scenarios using live streams to monitor tests remotely on a blade with 50 feet cut off the tip.
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The GE Vernova blade is a hybrid, which combines carbon fiber and fiberglass, and can crack during extreme environmental loads, causing torsion on the blade. No torsion test was done at the MassCEC Wind Testing Facility.
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July 13, 2024, a 107-meter GE Vernova blade on a Vineyard Wind Haliade-X turbine broke off Nantucket, causing fiberglass, microplastics, foam, and balsa wood debris to wash ashore. The failure was linked to a "manufacturing deviation" at a GE-owned Canadian factory, which resulted in the production of defective blades that ultimately led to the catastrophic incident off Nantucket.
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May 1, 2026, Vineyard Wind and GE Vernova will be in court over hundreds of millions in damages due to defective blade production.
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The case will be heard in the Suffolk Superior Civil Court in Massachusetts. Case number 2684CV01041
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The Massachusetts Clean Energy Wind Technology Testing Center should share some liability for testing only one blade from France, while the majority of failed blades were made in Canada. The original testing was flawed, with no torsion test. The Mass Clean Energy Center only tested one prototype blade made in 2019 and none of the 186 Vineyard blades in use today.
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Maine as Third World Country:
CMP Transmission Rate Skyrockets 19.6% Due to Wind Power
Click here to read how the Maine ratepayer has been sold down the river by the Angus King cabal.
Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT
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(excerpts) From Part 1 – On Maine’s Wind Law “Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine if the law’s goals were met." . – Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, August 2010 https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/From Part 2 – On Wind and Oil Yet using wind energy doesn’t lower dependence on imported foreign oil. That’s because the majority of imported oil in Maine is used for heating and transportation. And switching our dependence from foreign oil to Maine-produced electricity isn’t likely to happen very soon, says Bartlett. “Right now, people can’t switch to electric cars and heating – if they did, we’d be in trouble.” So was one of the fundamental premises of the task force false, or at least misleading?" https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-swept-task-force-set-the-rules/From Part 3 – On Wind-Required New Transmission Lines Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine was never even discussed by the task force – an omission that Mills said will come to haunt the state.“If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine – oh, my god, try to build the transmission!” said Mills. “It’s not just the towers, it’s the lines – that’s when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched.” https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/
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Hannah Pingree on the Maine expedited wind law
Hannah Pingree - Director of Maine's Office of Innovation and the Future
"Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine."
https://pinetreewatch.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/
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