Virginia – Dominion Energy has reported that the organization has documented with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) the necessary Construction and Operations Plan (COP) to build the 2,640-megawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) business project, the largest planned offshore wind farm in the US.
“This is a significant advance in the process toward bringing business-scale offshore wind to the Commonwealth and shows Dominion Energy is focused on delivering the spotless, inexhaustible and solid energy our clients expect from us,” said Joshua Bennett, Dominion Energy’s vice president of offshore wind. “We look forward to working with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management as the CVOW commercial project moves through the permitting process.”
The COP incorporates data about the development, tasks and theoretical decommissioning plans for Dominion Energy’s proposed offshore wind farm to be installed within a 112,800-acre Commercial Lease Area located 27 miles off the bank of Virginia Beach, which Dominion Energy acquired in 2013. Data about onshore and support facilities is included in the COP as well.
Through this filing, Dominion Energy shows, in addition to other things, it planned and sited the CVOW commercial project in a way that protects natural resources, the environment and human and wildlife health; utilizes the best available and safest technology; and does not unreasonably interfere with different uses of the Outer Continental Shelf, such as commercial and recreational fishing, commercial shipping lanes and military training maneuvers.
Information based on the results of the numerous studies of the lease area – geophysical, geotechnical, biological, social, financial – are also included in the filing for BOEM’s review, which will take approximately two years to complete.
Offshore wind generation is a significant segment of Dominion Energy’s comprehensive clean energy methodology to satisfy standards mandated in the Virginia Clean Economy Act and to accomplish the company’s net zero carbon dioxide and methane emissions commitment by 2050.
The organization recently finished the construction of CVOW’s first phase – the two turbine, 12-megawatt pilot project, which is located adjacent to the Commercial Lease Area. The two turbines are operational while the project goes through BOEM’s technical review before officially entering service.
The organization applied the important permitting, design and establishment experience from the CVOW pilot project to its proposed commercial project. Pending approval by the State Corporation Commission, the CVOW commercial project is on track to begin construction in 2024, and upon finishing in 2026, will provide enough renewable electricity to power up to 660,000 homes.
According to an financial effect study performed by Glen Allen-based Mangum Economics and authorized and published by the Hampton Roads Alliance, it is estimated that the CVOW commercial project could create approximately 900 jobs and $143 million in economic impact annually during construction and 1,100 jobs and almost $210 million in economic impact annually during operation of the turbines.
Additionally, during construction, the 2.6-gigawatt CVOW commercial project is estimated to generate nearly $5 million per year in local and state tax revenue which increases to almost $11 million annually once the project is commissioned and operational.
