Massachusetts’ only offshore wind project is under serious threat again, but this time, it’s not at the hands of the Trump administration.
Vineyard Wind on Wednesday sued its turbine supplier, GE Renewables, in civil court in Boston, alleging GE is breaching its contract and planning to abandon the project by April 28 — during the critical final stage of coming fully online.
If GE exits, Vineyard Wind says, the project “will likely fail, leaving the windfarm stranded” and unable to reach the power output for Massachusetts residents that Vineyard promised in power contracts.
“[GE] walking away threatens the Project’s very survival,” Vineyard Wind attorneys wrote in a filing, and the project’s failure would “leave behind a dormant wind farm graveyard.”
According to the complaint, GE filed a termination notice with Vineyard Wind in late February for its contracts to supply wind turbines and service and maintain them, citing more than $300 million in claims unpaid by Vineyard Wind.
The contracts guarantee that GE technicians and employees will bring all turbines online through a commissioning process, and thereafter oversee the wind farm for at least the first few years of its operations.
Vineyard Wind says GE owes it more than $800 million for years of delays and impacts from the catastrophic blade failure in 2024. It says the figure was determined by a “project engineer,” appointed by the contract to rule on claims the parties file against one another.
That $800 million exceeds the more than $300 million GE says it is owed by Vineyard Wind, and Vineyard Wind says the contract permits it to withhold those payments while it is owed.
A GE spokesperson in a statement to The Light Friday evening said Vineyard Wind has “chosen to withhold payments for more than 18 months, totaling more than $300 million, for work performed.
“Consequently, GE Vernova exercised its contractual right to terminate the ongoing project agreements for non-payment,” the spokesperson wrote. “The company remains committed to the safety of the wind farm and stands by our performance and our contractual obligations. We will vigorously defend our position through the appropriate legal process.”
If the $4.5 billion wind farm does not reach full power, Vineyard Wind attorneys argued, it cannot make a return on investments and repay the banks that lent $2 billion. If that happens, the lenders may declare a default and foreclose on the project, which Vineyard Wind’s attorneys said would threaten the project’s “ability to survive.”
The companies that operate in the offshore wind space shroud themselves in secrecy. Information is protected as proprietary in a competitive market. Because of this, Vineyard Wind argues no one else can properly or economically take over GE’s remaining commissioning work, and eventual operations, of the 62 turbines installed 15 miles offshore.
“Throughout the life of the Project, GER has refused to share basic information about the [wind turbine generators],” Vineyard Wind’s complaint reads. “It is unlikely that GER would share even more detailed information necessary for the repair and maintenance of the turbines with a replacement supplier.”
The wind farm’s 62 turbines are all installed. But they “are not yet fully operational and are able to produce power only at levels well below those intended,” Vineyard Wind attorneys wrote.
Vineyard Wind said currently, there are many “nonconformities” with the turbines that only GE personnel have the knowledge and expertise to address. This includes repeated tripping of the electrical system that is causing the turbines to shut down and reducing power output.
Vineyard Wind also tore into GE in the complaint over what it called “incredibly” and “inexcusably poor performance,” claiming delays at nearly every stage of the project that have amounted to more than two years.
The project said there was an earlier blade incident in 2024 that cost an additional $20 million (personnel damaged a blade during offloading from the installation vessel).
As for the summer 2024 blade failure, Vineyard Wind said the bonding issue was so severe for the other blades produced in Canada (all of which had to be removed, causing further delay), that some of them needed to be reinforced before removal, lest they also collapse into the ocean.
Vineyard Wind is seeking a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order against GE.
GE has until April 15 to respond to the complaint. A hearing is currently scheduled for April 16 at Suffolk Superior Court in Boston.
After more than two years of offshore construction, Vineyard Wind completed installation last month. It has been sending partial power for more than one year.
Email Anastasia E. Lennon at [email protected].
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