A judge has ordered a GE Vernova subsidiary to continue its work for now on the long-delayed but nearly completed Vineyard Wind 1 project off the Massachusetts coast.

Massachusetts Superior Court Justice Peter Krupp indicated in his April 17 order (case 2684CV01041) that the facts in the dispute between Vineyard Wind 1 LLC (VW) and GE Renewables US LLC (GER) favor VW.

He also said VW would be irreparably harmed if he did not issue the injunction. His order maintains the status quo as further legal maneuvers are prepared.

The simmering dispute between the two became public April 8, when VW sought a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order blocking its most important contractor from walking away from the project. (See Vineyard Wind Seeks to Force GE Renewables to Finish Work.)

VW in its memorandum explained that the 806-MW wind farm off the coast of Massachusetts has sustained two years of delays and more than $1 billion in damages from component failures that GER admitted were its own fault, particularly the replacement of turbine blades determined to contain manufacturing defects.

All components of the project are installed but further work is needed before the facility can reach full output, VW has said.

The project engineer so far has decided claims worth $853 million in VW’s favor, VW said in its court filing, and VW has withheld $308.1 million, as it maintains the turbine supply agreement (TSA) allows.

The TSA is worth approximately $1.32 billion, according to the filing.

VW said GER gave notice Feb. 27 that it would terminate the project contracts effective April 28 on grounds that it is owed more than 5% of the TSA value. The two parties met as recently as April 6 but were unable to reach an agreement.

GER on April 15 submitted a memorandum opposing VW’s motion for a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order; it asserted its contractual right to terminate the TSA if payments withheld exceed 5% of total value.

VW also states in its memorandum that the project relies on a large, complex new turbine design used at only one other facility in the world and says GER with its proprietary tools and components is indispensable to the wind farm’s success.

Not so, GER said in its memorandum: “GER itself relies and would continue to rely upon third-party contractors to perform a substantial portion of the work on the Project. VW could use these same contractors or a host of other available companies to complete the remaining work.”

The memorandum Krupp wrote accompanying his order comes down against GER. He said:

• • The TSA authorizes the project engineer to resolve disputes.
  • The project engineer has determined GER is responsible for paying VW claims worth more than $500 million.
  • GER’s remedy would be to challenge the engineer’s determinations, not to terminate the TSA, but it has made no such challenge.
  • There is nothing in the relevant portions of the TSA that caps the amount of money VW can withhold.
  • VW has demonstrated a reasonable likelihood of success based on the merits of its claim.
  • GER would not be irreparably harmed by an injunction — it would merely be held to the obligations of a contract it signed in June 2021.
  • VW has demonstrated it would be irreparably harmed absent an injunction.

Krupp elaborated on this last point:

“GER is in a unique position with respect to the VW project. It has unique knowledge and expertise. The project is at a critical phase and the loss of VW’s principal contractor would set the project back immeasurably and threaten VW’s financing. The work that is required to bring the project into commercial viability is highly dependent on GER’s capabilities, personnel and technology.

“To pretend that VW could go out and hire one or more contractors to finish the installation and troubleshoot and modify GER’s proprietary design without GER’s specialized knowledge is fanciful.”