Judge sides with Vineyard Wind in first judgment in legal tussle with GE Vernova

As highlighted by OWJ, developer behind the Vineyard Wind offshore windfarm in the US is suing GE Vernova – the company that supplied the wind turbines for the project – to prevent the manufacturer from pulling out of the contract.

Iberdrola, the developer of the Vineyard Wind offshore windfarm, took action against GE Vernova when it was sent a termination notice by the wind turbine OEM, in which it claimed that the developer had failed to pay money owed to it. 

Responding to the termination notice in a filing submitted to Suffolk Superior Court, lawyers acting on behalf of Vineyard Wind said the company was bringing “this urgent motion” to prevent its most important contractor, turbine supplier GE Vernova from abandoning the project on the eve of completion, dooming the project to failure.”

On 17 April 2026, the judge handling the case, Suffolk Superior Court judge Peter Krupp, said GE Vernova had ‘no basis’ to terminate the contract for the turbines and for their support.

After a review of an emergency motion for a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order filed by Vineyard Wind, the judge said the preliminary injunction would be allowed. The judge said Vineyard Wind had demonstrated that it would be irreparably harmed if GE Vernova walked away from the contract. 

“To pretend that Vineyard Wind could go out and hire one or more contractors to finish the installation and troubleshoot and modify GE Vernova’s proprietary design without GE Vernova’s specialised knowledge is fanciful,” the judge said.

The judge also noted that a project engineer appointed under turbine supply agreement (TSA) for Vineyard Wind – whose role is to resolve potential disputes – had determined that GE Vernova is responsible for paying a number of claims from Vineyard Wind totalling more than half a billion dollars, and that GE Vernova “has not initiated a challenge to the determinations by the engineer under the TSA.”