Offshore staff
RICHMOND, Virginia – Dominion Energy’s two turbine, 12-MW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) pilot project has completed reliability testing and is ready to enter commercial service.
The next regulatory step for CVOW is to submit the final documentation for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to complete its technical review, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The turbines will remain in operation during this review process, Dominion said.
Located 27 mi (43 km) off the coast of Virginia Beach, CVOW is the only project currently permitted under the BOEM process and will be the first fully operational wind power generation facility in US federal waters. It is expected to generate enough electricity to power up to 3,000 Virginia homes.
Installation of the two pilot turbines was completed in June. Ørsted served as the offshore engineering, procurement, and construction lead for the pilot project. The L. E. Myers Company, with members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, performed the onshore construction work.
Dominion said it will apply the permitting, design, installation, and operations experience from the pilot project to its proposed 2.6-GW commercial project. That project, which is the largest announced offshore wind project in North America, is on track to start construction in 2024. Upon completion, it is expected to provide enough electricity to power up to 660,000 homes.
According to an economic impact study performed by Glen Allen-based Mangum Economics and commissioned and published by the Hampton Roads Alliance, it is estimated that the CVOW commercial project could create about 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.
The company said its construction and operations plan is on schedule to be submitted to BOEM later this year.
10/14/2020
