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The lawsuit states that the project has already suffered significant damage due to GE Renewable’s “unjustified poor performance,” and that allowing the contractor to back out now would cause irreparable harm.
Wind turbines operate at the Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind farm off the coast of Massachusetts, July 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File) AP
The developer of a major offshore wind farm in Massachusetts has filed a lawsuit against the turbine manufacturer, seeking to force it to stay with the project.
The scent of generosity A lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Massachusetts against GE Renewables. This comes after GE Renewables’ parent company said it would end its contracts for turbine services and maintenance at the end of April.
J Vernova Vineyard Wind says it is owed $300 million for the work it did. But Vineyard Wind says the manufacturer is still on the hook for about $545 million to compensate for the catastrophic turbine blade failure in July 2024 and the delays it caused.
Fragments of a fiberglass blade broke off and began washing up on the beaches of Nantucket in July 2024 during the peak tourist season. GE Vernova agreed to pay $10.5 million in settlement to compensate island companies that incurred losses.
The lawsuit states that the project has already suffered significant damage due to GE Renewable’s “unjustified poor performance,” and that allowing the contractor to back out now would cause irreparable harm. Craig Gilvarg, a spokesman for Vineyard Wind, said Friday that the lawsuit aims to ensure that GE Renewables fulfills its obligations to the project “and to the people of Massachusetts and New England who depend on the significant economic benefits this project already provides.”
GE Vernova said the company is exercising its right to terminate non-payment agreements for work performed.
“The company remains committed to the safety of the wind farm and adheres to our performance and contractual obligations,” the company said in a statement. “We will vigorously defend our position through appropriate legal action.”
Construction on Vineyard Wind finished in March, making it the first project to reach this stage during President Donald Trump’s presidency. It has already been providing power to the grid for over a year as more turbines have been completed. It is expected to reach full operations in the coming months.
According to the lawsuit, GE Renewables is the only company capable of performing the remaining work, and it would be nearly impossible to find another turbine supplier willing to take its place. A hearing is scheduled for Thursday.
GE Vernova said insufficient bonding at one of its plants in Canada was responsible for the blade coming apart and that there was no indication of a design flaw. Sixty-eight of the 72 blades installed at Vineyard Wind at that time were removed and replaced. Vineyard Wind said that delayed the project by about two years.
The Trump administration has particularly criticized the project for the code’s failure.
It was one of five major offshore wind projects on the East Coast on which the Trump administration halted construction days before Christmas, citing national security concerns. The developers and states sued, and federal judges allowed the five to resume construction, essentially concluding that the government had not proven that the national security risk was so imminent that construction should be halted.
Vineyard Wind is a joint venture between Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, located 15 miles (24 kilometers) south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, Massachusetts. It has 62 turbines that will generate a total of 800 megawatts. This is enough clean electricity to power about 400,000 homes.
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