Future Brightens For Wind Energy Project Off Coast Of VA Beach

VIRGINIA — Energy industry officials have eyed the offshore waters of Virginia over the past decade as a potential spot for a large wind energy farm.

After years of announcements and studies, movement on an offshore Virginia wind farm, proposed by Richmond-based Dominion Energy, appears to be gaining momentum.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam hosted U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland on Thursday for a tour of the Port of Virginia in Norfolk and to discuss offshore wind industry supply chain opportunities.

State officials are hoping that the port area could become a major industrial and logistics center for the wind energy industry.

During her visit on Thursday with Northam and U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), Haaland announced that the Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will start an environmental review of Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind commercial project planned for about 23 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach.

On Friday, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is expected to publish a notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement for the Dominion Energy project in the Federal Register, which will open a 30-day public comment period extending through Aug. 2.

The issuance of a notice of intent from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to conduct the environmental review marks the first major milestone in the federal permitting of the 2,600-megawatt offshore wind project.

“Virginia is all in on offshore wind. We are developing the infrastructure, workforce, supply chain, and manufacturing capabilities needed to capture the many benefits of this emerging industry,” Northam said Thursday in a statement.

The announcement on Thursday follows a recent agreement between the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that will give the federal agencies additional scientific and technical resources to evaluate offshore wind projects. The initiative was developed in partnership with Old Dominion University and facilitated by the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy.

Dominion Energy's proposed offshore wind energy project calls for the construction and operation of up to 205 turbines capable of generating up to 3,000 megawatts of electricity. During development and construction, the project is expected to create an average of 900 jobs through 2026, with a peak of about 1,500 jobs in 2024 and 2025.

The project proposal includes three offshore substations with one possible cable landfall location in Virginia Beach. The energy produced would help Virginia reach its goal of securing 5,200 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2034.

Dominion Energy already operates a research offshore wind project located near the proposed project location, consisting of two test turbines in federal waters off the coast of Virginia Beach, which will provide data to help inform the commercial-scale project.