The Virginia power company and Denmark-based energy company Ørsted, formerly Dong Energy, made the announcement Friday, August 3, 2018, in Norfolk, Virginia. The project will be the Mid-Atlantic’s first offshore wind project in a federal lease area.
Dominion Energy filed with Virginia’s State Corporation Commission (SCC) for approval to build the two 6-megawatt wind turbines and grid infrastructure needed to connect the facility to the coast.
“Today’s announcement further affirms our commitment to a new era of clean, renewable energy for the Commonwealth,” said Thomas F. Farrell, II, Dominion Energy’s chairman, president, and chief executive officer. “We are truly excited to bring offshore wind to Virginians for the first time.”
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam and Thomas Brostrøm, president of Ørsted North America were also in attendance on Friday for the announcement.
We took an important step forward today on the mid-Atlantic’s first offshore wind project. Located 27 miles off the coast of VA Beach, the wind area can support up to 2,000 megawatts – enough to power 500,000 homes during peak wind output. Learn more >> pic.twitter.com/Tjvcxwr8Pa
— Dominion Energy VA (@DomEnergyVA) August 3, 2018
“The announcement today represents a significant step toward harnessing Virginia’s offshore wind energy resource and the many important economic benefits that this industry will bring to our Commonwealth,” said Governor Ralph Northam.
The start of the Partnership
The partnership was first announced in July 2017 and known as Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind.
Orsted (Dong Energy) signed an agreement with Dominion that will giving Orsted exclusive rights to discuss a partnership in developing the larger commercial site, depending on the successful deployment of the two test turbines.
The project begins
The 12-megawatt project will be located about 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach on 2,135 acres of federal waters leased by the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy. The two turbines will sit in about 80 feet (24.3 meters) of water and rise over 550 feet (168 meters) above the ocean’s surface.
As for offshore wind off the U.S. coastline, this project will only be the second for this country. The first commercial offshore wind farm, off the coast of Block Island, Rhode Island, has been operational since 2015. The Dominion Energy offshore wind farm will be the first to be owned completely by an electric utility company.
The $300 million project will be funded through existing base rates, enabled by the Grid Transformation & Security Act. Contingent on various regulatory approvals, onshore construction would start in 2019, followed by turbine installation and operation in 2020.
The Grid Transformation & Security Act became law in Virginia in 2018 after being passed overwhelmingly by the General Assembly. Basically, the law states that wind energy is in the public interest and will pave the way for a smarter, stronger and greener energy grid.
