Several Island towns have begun discussing the potential to create an agreement that would demand better communication and planning from Vineyard Wind.  

The Chilmark select board voted earlier this month to send a letter to the other five select boards to gauge their interest in the prospect. Representatives from Chilmark, Edgartown, Aquinnah and West Tisbury met last Friday to begin the process, according to Edgartown town administrator James Hagerty.  

Mr. Hagerty did not give further details about what was discussed, but did say there was traction and that the towns hope to meet again in October.

Chilmark’s concern came after Nantucket aired a laundry list of complaints against the 62-turbine offshore wind energy project off the Vineyard’s coast in July. 

Upset with how the company dealt with the fallout from a blade failure in the summer of 2024, Nantucket has demanded progress reports about construction, damages for when Vineyard Wind isn’t properly operating its aircraft lighting system and a fund set aside to deal with potential future blade malfunctions.

Nantucket has even threatened to sue, saying Vineyard Wind has not met its end of a community agreement forged with the town.

Vineyard public officials have not been as directly involved in the aftermath of the blade failure, which spread thousands of pieces of fiberglass into the ocean. Most of the debris washed up on Nantucket beaches.

The Vineyard towns don’t have an agreement directly with Vineyard Wind like Nantucket. Instead, nonprofit Vineyard Power signed a collective benefits agreement with Vineyard Wind.

The agreement calls for Vineyard Wind to pay out $15 million to support solar and distributed energy storage projects to enhance resiliency. Half of that funding is then administered by Vineyard Power, which also recieves an annual $181,000 contribution from Vineyard Wind. The Citizens Energy Corporation, another Massachusetts nonprofit, controls the other half. 

At a meeting earlier this month, Chilmark select board member Jeffrey Maida suggested a Islandwide effort to approach Vineyard Wind to consider a new agreement.   

“I think it’s real important that we have some money somewhere for cleanup if something happens,” he said at the meeting. “What happened in Nantucket so easily could have been our beaches, just with the wind and the tide differently. I think we need to think down the road that something could seriously happen that is going to cost a ton of money to clean up.”  

This is a chance to receive clarifications about the project overall and how it affects the Island, according to select board member Matt Poole.  

“I think it’s important to understand what the community benefit package that was agreed to on our behalf actually provides to the town,” he said.