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Less than 24 hours after Vineyard Wind secured a win in federal court that lifted the project suspension, it sailed its 62nd and final turbine tower out of the Port of New Bedford on a brutally cold Wednesday morning. The shipment comes more than two years after the first turbine went out, capping off a long installation process that hit several unexpected bumps and delays along the way.
All that remains now are 10 blade sets — or 30 blades — to install by the end of March, when the project will lose access to its specialized installation vessel.
Depending on the weather and sea conditions, a single blade can take a few hours to install. If the seas are too rough, work has to pause.
Chris Melendez, a millwright who started working at New Bedford’s Marine Commerce Terminal for Vineyard Wind in 2024, said workers are “excited that [it’s] finally leaving.”
“For all of us, [it] is a great accomplishment being able to build this one of a kind project and to see the last tower leave after all the battles we fought,” Melendez said by text.
Our offshore wind tracker: What’s new with wind projects off Massachusetts and beyond?
Offshore wind is changing fast. Here’s our tracker, first published in April 2025, and the latest on where the Northeast’s wind projects stand as of Jan. 27, 2026.
He and other workers on Wednesday will offload more blades from a giant vessel that’s been docked at the terminal. At least 25 blades now sit at the site.
Vineyard Wind was the fourth project to resume construction after the Trump administration suspended five under-construction offshore wind projects from Massachusetts to Virginia days before Christmas.
It remains to be seen whether the stay, granted by a federal judge this week, will facilitate approvals needed by Vineyard Wind from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement to install the remaining blades. (Each set requires BSEE review and approval following the blade failure.)
“On average, BSEE completes its review of [return to installation] submissions in approximately two days,” Vineyard Wind wrote in court filings.
But since the suspension, BSEE has not approved any blades for installation.
“BSEE staff have advised that, while the Order remains in effect, BSEE cannot assure it has authority to complete those reviews or issue the required non-objections absent leadership guidance — effectively preventing installation of the remaining blade sets regardless of vessel and blade availability,” Vineyard Wind CEO Klaus Moeller said in filings.
Judge Brian E. Murphy, who ordered the stay on Tuesday, declined to issue any order on BSEE, but said if Vineyard Wind finds delays are persisting following the ruling, the company can bring it before the court.
Vineyard Wind did not respond to a request for comment as of Wednesday afternoon.
In a post on X, Mayor Jon Mitchell shared a photo taken from the water of the barge passing through the narrow barrier opening: “Many thanks to everyone in the port who have made the marshaling of this historic project a success.”
When the first full turbine went out, Vineyard Wind celebrated with a press release and drone pictures capturing what it said would become a “proud symbol of America’s clean energy transition.”
On Wednesday morning, it was just two Light reporters, an interested man from Fall River, and, briefly, two people in reflective work vests who took a quick photo-op atop the barrier with the barge passing by.
Email Anastasia E. Lennon at alennon@newbedfordlight.org.
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