Martha’s Vineyard Vacationers Hit With Blow From Clean Energy Blade

The success of the largest offshore wind farm in the country was blowing other clean energy companies out the water just a few weeks ago—but now its crumbling infrastructure is ruining tourism at Martha’s Vineyard. Over the weekend, one of Vineyard Wind’s 107-meter blades suffered damage that sent bits of white and green fiberglass flying into the ocean. The wind farm’s sudden shut down could be a devastating blow to the fledgling clean energy industry, which is facing criticisms from fossil fuel supporters like Donald Trump and financial headwinds in America’s stormy economy. The original cause of the blade’s damage is unknown, and the destruction is limited to a single turbine on the southernmost edge of the wind farms’ 167,000 acres. The turbine is located as far from the vineyard as possible while remaining on the massive offshore lease, but authorities closed the south beaches of the vacation spot to swimmers anyway.