July 16 (Reuters) -

The Vineyard Wind offshore wind project off the coast of

Massachusetts is shut down until further notice while

authorities investigate a turbine blade failure that caused

debris to wash up on beaches, a federal agency said on Tuesday.

The U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement

(BSEE) said it was working closely with Vineyard Wind to

determine the cause of the incident, which left potentially

dangerous debris on beaches on the island of Nantucket.

"There were no injuries reported, but operations are

shut down until further notice," a BSEE spokesperson said in an

emailed statement.

The incident is a blow to both Vineyard Wind, the first

major U.S. offshore wind farm, and the nation's budding offshore

wind industry. The sector is regarded as critical to meeting

President Joe Biden's climate change goals but has been

struggling with soaring costs and delays.

Vineyard Wind said the turbine's manufacturer, GE, would

analyze the root cause of the incident. The turbine was in its

commissioning phase and was still undergoing testing, according

to company spokesperson Craig Gilvarg.

GE officials were not immediately available for comment.

Just last month, Vineyard Wind announced that it had

installed 21 of the project's expected 62 turbines, and that 10

were generating power. It is expected to produce enough

electricity to power 400,000 homes once it is fully operational.

The turbine blade broke on Saturday, and on Tuesday

authorities said they had closed beaches on the south shore of

Nantucket Island due to debris washing ashore, according to a

statement on the Town of Nantucket web site.

"In some areas, significant sharp debris has been observed

floating in the water and is often hidden beneath the surface.

Small fragments along the shoreline can pose a considerable

hazard to swimmers and beachgoers," the statement said.

The incident came during the busy summer tourist season,

when the island's population swells to 80,000 from its usual

14,000.

Vineyard Wind is owned by Denmark's Copenhagen

Infrastructure Partners and Avangrid ( AGR ), the U.S. arm of

Spanish utility Iberdrola.