A Massachusetts judge appeared open on Thursday to temporarily blocking GE Vernova from walking away from the $4.5 billion Vineyard Wind project, New England’s largest offshore wind farm.
The dispute centers on money. GE Vernova says Vineyard Wind owes it more than $360 million under their $1.3 billion contract. Vineyard Wind refuses to pay, claiming it’s entitled to withhold funds because of a catastrophic blade failure in 2024 that it blames on GE.
Suffolk County Superior Court Judge Peter Krupp heard arguments from both sides in Boston. He didn’t issue an immediate ruling but appeared skeptical of GE’s claim that it had the right to terminate the contract and cease all work effective April 28.
What GE Vernova says
GE’s lawyer, David Lender of Weil Gotshal & Manges, argued the company had already done its part. All 62 wind turbine generators for the 806-megawatt project off Martha’s Vineyard have been installed. The farm began initial operations in February.
But Lender said GE shouldn’t be expected to continue servicing those turbines for years to come if Vineyard Wind won’t pay what it owes.
“If they pay us we will continue the work,” he said. “It’s not like they don’t have the money.”
What Vineyard Wind says
Vineyard Wind’s lawyer, Frances Bivens of Davis Polk & Wardwell, told the court that the company has strong reasons to withhold payment. She pointed to a 2024 incident in which one of GE’s offshore blades collapsed and fell into the waters off Nantucket.
The defect that caused the failure turned out to be present in nearly every one of the 72 installed blades. Vineyard Wind was forced to replace all of them, causing two years of construction delays.
“So the damages to Vineyard Wind are substantial,” Bivens said. She asked the judge to issue a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction to prevent GE from ceasing work.
Judge Krupp acknowledged the strength of that position. “They say you owe them more than they owe you,” he told GE’s lawyers. “For present purposes, that’s the state of the world.”
A project already under political pressure
The legal fight comes at a fragile moment for Vineyard Wind. In January, the company won a federal court order blocking the Trump administration from halting construction on the project. Now, losing GE’s cooperation could jeopardize the wind farm at another critical stage.
Vineyard Wind is a joint venture between Spain’s Iberdrola and Denmark’s Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. The project has faced repeated setbacks — political, technical, and now contractual.
What happens next
Judge Krupp scheduled a follow-up hearing for May 1. At that hearing, he’ll consider GE’s motion to push the dispute into arbitration. If he denies that motion, he indicated he would move quickly to a trial for a final ruling.
The case is Vineyard Wind 1 LLC vs. GE Renewables US LLC, Suffolk County Superior Court, Massachusetts.
