Dominion Energy to sell 50 percent interest in Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project to Stonepeak
Although it won’t be a controlling share, Dominion Energy announced this week that it has agreed to sell a 50 percent interest in its Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind commercial project (CVOW) to Stonepeak under an offshore wind partnership.
This will take the form of investments from Stonepeak into a newly formed subsidiary of Dominion Energy Virginia. If approved by the State Corporation Commissions of Virginia, it will become a public utility, with cost recovery powers utilizing the capital structure of and cost of capital at Dominion Energy Virginia. Meanwhile, Dominion will maintain full operational control of the construction and operations of CVOW and Stonepeak will gain minority interest rights.
“The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project continues to proceed on-time and on-budget and consistent with our previously communicated timing and cost expectations,” Robert Blue, Dominion Energy chair, president and CEO, said. “A competitive partnership process attracted high-quality interest resulting in a compelling partner for CVOW. Stonepeak is one of the world’s largest infrastructure investors with more than $61 billion in assets under management and an extensive track record of investment in large and complex energy infrastructure projects including offshore wind. Their significant financial participation will benefit both our project and our customers.”
While the transaction is expected to close by the end of the year, it will first require approval from the SCC and the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC), and obtain certain consents from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and other regulatory agencies. Dominion expects to received proceeds of around $3 billion when all is said and done.
Once the deal is closed, Dominion and Stonepeak will each contribute 50 percent of the remaining capital necessary to fund construction of CVOW. In the end, this should lead to a 2.6 GW wind farm capable of powering up to 660,000 homes as of late 2026.
