Breaking Down Giants

April 15, 2026

When the ambitious Ocean Wind 1 offshore wind project was canceled in late 2023, it left behind the physical remnants of one of the largest offshore wind projects ever planned in the United States. The project, located about 15 miles southeast of Atlantic City, New Jersey, was intended to generate up to 1,100 megawatts of renewable power. But after the Danish energy giant Ørsted cited escalating costs and supply chain constraints, the effort was halted and the lease area was suspended.

That decision created a new kind of challenge: what to do with the massive monopiles that had already been fabricated for installation. Each section had been engineered for a specific depth and location in the Atlantic Ocean and could not be repurposed elsewhere. To safely dismantle, process and recycle the colossal steel structures, the company turned to NDA member Terra Technical Services.

An Innovataive Approach to an Unprecedented Job

Terra was selected for its reputation for safety and for developing an innovative demolition strategy that minimized crane use and manual handling. “Safety is paramount, and we had an innovative approach to the work that set Terra apart from the other companies,” says Gerald Thompson, senior superintendant at Terra.

Work began on Sept. 9, 2024, at a port site near the Delaware River. Over the following 11 months, crews tackled more than 40 monopile sections, with the final piece scheduled to be moved by Aug. 29, 2025. It marked the first project of its kind in North America — a full-scale dismantling of offshore wind monopiles designed for ocean depths, never intended to be cut apart on land.

Planning and Precision Cutting

Each monopile measured roughly 288 feet long, 32 feet in diameter and weighed an average of 1,460 gross tons. They rested on cradles 6-10 feet above the ground, with the tops towering 40-45 feet in the air. Because no playbook existed for dismantling monopiles of this size, Terra’s team spent weeks developing a custom work plan, calculating section weights and engineering safety measures to maintain structural stability throughout the process. The first few weeks on-site were all about testing designed and engineered methods. Terra mobilized a small six-person crew to refine cutting methods on a single monopile. Every step — from laying down crane mats to setting up torch tracks — was tested, timed and evaluated. Adjustments were made daily based on heat distortion, material drop behavior and crew positioning. Once the process was proven safe and efficient, the full workforce was deployed, dividing into four five-person teams working in rotation across multiple areas.

Each team’s rhythm became a study in precision. Two crew members operated a tracked torch system capable of cutting through four inches of steel at a rate of three feet per minute, while two others followed with 5-foot hand torches to create 3-by-5-foot sections. Sparks cascaded from the torch heads as the orange glow of molten steel traced clean lines along the curved surface. A fifth crew member acted as the ground person, managing hoses, watching for fire hazards and ensuring communication with equipment operators.

Prepared sections, each weighing less than 2,000 pounds, were allowed to fall either safely inside the monopile or onto the protective mats below. Excavators fitted with magnets retrieved the pieces and transported them to the rail loadout area for recycling. The coordination between man lifts, torch operators and equipment crews was constant, with radios crackling as teams called out progress and confirmed safe clearances before each drop

Safety and Stability in Motion

Safety was the foundation of every phase. Before beginning work on a new monopile, operators placed thick wooden crane mats to protect the asphalt surface and added large dunnage and cribbing to reinforce the monopile’s cradles. As sections were cut away, the remaining structure’s weight distribution shifted, posing a real risk of rolling or collapsing if not properly supported. These extra measures ensured stability even as the steel’s geometry changed.

Supervisors monitored every stage from ground level and held daily safety huddles to review wind conditions, equipment checks and potential hazards. Wind, in particular, proved to be a constant factor. Working so close to the Delaware River meant frequent gusts that halted lift operations entirely. OSHA’s lift safety guidelines were followed to the letter. But even when conditions stayed within the 20-mph limit, maintaining a steady cut in 10- to 15-mph winds required exceptional control and teamwork

Torch operators were trained to read the flame pattern and compensate for wind drift while cutting through thick steel, sometimes repositioning multiple times along a single seam. The teams also refined their understanding of “relief cuts” — strategic openings that prevented the buildup of stored energy that could release suddenly and turn a section into a projectile. By the second month, the crews had the technique down to an exact science.

Efficiency Through Design

What made Terra’s approach unique was its efficiency. While other companies proposed using cranes to lift and lower large steel sections before cutting them down, Terra’s method minimized cranedependence entirely. Cutting the material into manageable 3-by-5-foot plates directly from the monopile meant the crew handled each section only once. The smaller pieces dropped in place were magnetically lifted and immediately loaded for transport.

This not only reduced overall project costs but also minimized risk exposure. Fewer lifts meant fewer suspended loads, and fewer ground personnel working under heavy steel. The entire system was built around the principle of “touch once” — every movement of material had purpose.

The equipment lineup reflected that efficiency mindset. Terra relied on an impressive fleet: John Deere 470 and 350 excavators with magnets, a John Deere 160 excavator with bucket and thumb, multiple John Deere wheel loaders, eight 65-foot articulating man lifts, two skid steers, a Magni telescopic handler and six customized Bug-O tracked torch units — each carrying two QCC torches for dual cutting. All equipment was supported by Terra’s owned fleet of trucks for hauling.

Managing the Elements

The project’s location added logistical complexity. The port site sat in a busy industrial zone where other maritime operations were ongoing, so Terra had to coordinate access and trucking schedules to avoid congestion. Weather delays were frequent, especially during winter months when freezing temperatures complicated torch ignition and fuel flow.

Even on good days, the crew battled humidity, rain and salt air that corroded cutting equipment faster than expected. To counteract that, mechanics established a rotation system — while one torch unit cooled and underwent maintenance, another was swapped in to keep production steady. This continuous operation model ensured that at least three torch systems were running at all times, maintaining momentum despite setbacks.

Fire watch duties were equally critical. Given the volume of hot slag produced by each cut, ground crew members rotated between active fire watch and cleanup, using sweepers and magnets to clear residual metal before the next cutting sequence began.

A Closed-Loop Recycling Operation

Every section of steel removed from the monopiles was recycled. Once the prepared plates were lifted out, they were loaded into trucks and hauled to an adjacent rail yard on site, where they were consolidated for shipment to recyclers across the East Coast.

Because each piece was cut to predictable dimensions and weight, the loading process was remarkably efficient. Crews could stack and secure steel uniformly, optimizing each truckload and minimizing handling time. Terra’s forethought in designing uniform cuts didn’t just improve safety; it also improved sustainability, allowing 100% of the recovered material to enter the recycling stream with minimal reprocessing. The team’s method proved so effective that it could set a new standard for handling oversized offshore wind components in the future, as the U.S. continues to build and decommission wind infrastructure along the Atlantic Coast.

Overcoming Challenges

From day one, the project presented unprecedented challenges. “There isn’t a book you can read on how to dismantle large monopiles that were laying horizontally on cradles,” says Sherri Manning, vice president at Terra. Maintaining crew safety while protecting both the equipment and the asphalt surface below required constant adjustments and creative problem-solving.

Wind remained the most persistent obstacle, but it wasn’t the only one. Early in the project, the team had to determine exactly how much material to remove during the relief-cut stage to prevent dangerous spring-back forces. They also had to manage the physical strain on torch operators who spent hours working in elevated lifts, exposed to weather and radiant heat from molten steel.

Through preplanning, daily debriefs and a strict adherence to safety standards, Terra’s crews adapted to every new condition. What started as trial and error evolved into a seamless production system that balanced precision, pace and protection.

A Safe and Sustainable Finish

Despite the complexity and challenges, Terra’s crews achieved what they consider the ultimate measure of success: zero safety incidents. Every pound of steel from the dismantled monopiles was recycled, leaving no waste behind.

“The plan set forth was the right plan, and it was executed flawlessly by the entire crew,” says Conrad E. Muhly IV, CEO of Terra.