A wind turbine is damaged off Nantucket Island. Searchers are combing beaches for debris

Wind developers off the touristy Massachusetts island of Nantucket have sent teams to search for debris after one of their wind turbine blades suffered damage

Wind Turbine Damage (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Offshore wind developers have sent teams to search for debris on the beaches of Nantucket Island, a popular summer tourist destination, after one of their turbine blades suffered damage.

Vineyard Wind said Tuesday it is mobilizing teams on Nantucket to recover debris on south-facing beaches. The development said a “blade damage incident” took place Saturday.

Vineyard Wind said it's also working with the U.S. Coast Guard to maintain a safety zone of 500 meters (1,640 feet) around the affected offshore turbine. It said that the debris consists of nontoxic fiberglass fragments and that any washing ashore will be pieces of one square foot or less.

"Vineyard Wind is fully committed to a swift and safe recovery of all debris, with an unwavering focus on community safety and environmental protection," it said in a statement.

Vineyard Wind is a joint venture between Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and said no personnel or third parties were near the turbine when the damage occurred. It said in a statement that blade manufacturer and installation contractor GE “will now be conducting the analysis into the root cause of the incident.”

The development's massive wind turbines began sending electricity to the grid this past winter. It said it will deploy trained individuals to collect the debris for the next several days.