Issue With MWRA Wind Turbine on Deer Island

UPDATE 6/2/23:

The Deer Island Public Access area has fully reopened. Please note that small portions of the public access pathway will be closed on Monday, June 5 to allow contractors to safely work on decommissioning the damaged wind turbine.

UPDATE 5/30/23:

Yesterday afternoon, MWRA's contractor was able to insert a braking mechanism at the top of the turbine to stop it from spinning.

There is significant damage to the turbine and MWRA believes that the best course of action is to take it down so it no longer poses a danger.

Staff are working to expedite the removal; however, it will involve a large crane, so it may take a couple of days to mobilize and begin the work.

Public Access in the area of the turbine will remain closed until the turbine has been taken down.

As yet, we do not have any further information on why this incident occurred, but investigations are underway.

ORIGINAL: Around 10:00 this morning, someone walking around the public access area of the Deer Island Treatment Plant noticed one of the two wind turbines had something hanging from one of the blades. They called 911 and MWRA staff and emergency personnel responded.

The turbine in question has been out of service since April 2022, due to a mechanical issue, and was locked in place. Although it’s too soon to speculate on what happened, it appears that this morning’s strong winds broke the braking mechanism and the turbine began to free spin.

MWRA’s contractor is on site and is trying to stop the turbine. If they cannot, they will let it spin until the wind dies down.

There are no operational issues associated with this and no damage has been done to the facility. The turbine is 100-feet tall and is rated at 600kW.

UPDATE (3:30 PM): The turbine has been stopped and secured. Public access in that area will remain closed out of an abundance of caution.

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Updated: June 2, 2023
Original Post: May 29, 2023