The town of Nantucket this week scored a multi-million dollar settlement agreement to compensate the town and businesses that were affected by the broken Vineyard Wind turbine blade that spread fiberglass and foam across the island’s south shore beaches last summer. 

In an announcement Friday, town leaders said GE Vernova, the manufacturer of the turbine, will give the town $10.5 million that will be put in a community fund to help people who were financially harmed by the blade malfunction on July 13, 2024. 

In the aftermath of the blade break, the town had to close its beaches for fear of people being injured by the shards of fiberglass, and beach cleanup efforts went on for weeks. Town officials expect that businesses lost out during the height of the tourist season.

“Offshore wind may bring benefits, but it also carries risks—to ocean health, to historic landscapes, and to the economies of coastal communities like Nantucket, known worldwide as an environmental and cultural treasure,” said Brooke Mohr, the chair of the town’s select board. 

The settlement is the first of its kind in the U.S. for the offshore wind industry, something the town was cognizant of when it entered negotiations with GE Vernova. 

“This is a first-time occurrence,” said Greg Werkheiser, an attorney for the town that was hired to help with the wind projects. “We were certainly aware that we were setting a bit of a precedent if this were to happen again.”

The town plans to hire a third-party administrator to evaluate claims from businesses and issue payments from the fund. The community fund will accept claims for a six-month period, and each claim must be backed with reliable documentation, such as receipts, bank statements or tax returns that show damages incurred as a result from the washed up debris. 

Any funds not claimed by businesses in the settlement will revert to the town to be used in the public’s interest, according to Mr. Werkheiser.

As part of the agreement, Nantucket will not file any legal claims against GE Vernova related to blade break. The town will also not take legal action against Vineyard Wind, according to language in the settlement, which was provided to the press by the town. 

Nantucket officials do still plan to resolve several issues residents have with Vineyard Wind, though, Ms. Mohr and Mr. Werkheiser said.

“The town plans to have more to say,” the attorney said. “It’s not the resolution of all the problems.” 

The settlement comes almost exactly a year after the 107-meter blade doubled over and a large portion broke off and sank to the ocean floor. An internal investigation by GE Vernova indicated that the issue was a manufacturing defect at its plant in Canada. 

GE Vernova had little to say about the settlement, giving a one-sentence statement when reached Friday. 

“We are pleased to have reached a final settlement agreement with the Town of Nantucket to provide compensation for any impacted local businesses,” a spokesperson said.

A federal investigation into the incident is ongoing, and Vineyard Wind has resumed work on the 62-turbine project about 14 miles south of the Vineyard. 

Vineyard Wind, which has its operations headquarters in Vineyard Haven, was not part of the settlement negotiations and the company has not communicated with Nantucket since the broken blade was struck by lightning in February, according to Ms. Mohr.

Due to the tides and winds, the Vineyard towns saw little debris wash up on the Island, and none have taken any legal maneuvers against the project related to the break.