Dominion Energy proposes largest offshore wind project in United States

Dominion Energy recently filed a proposal with PJM for a 2,600 megawatt (MW) offshore wind project, which, if approved, would be the largest such project in the United States.

“Offshore wind is an excellent renewable energy source and this filing with PJM shows how serious we are about bringing commercial-scale offshore wind to Virginia, giving our customers what they have asked for – more renewable energy,” Mark D. Mitchell, vice president of generation construction, said. “Governor Ralph Northam has made it clear Virginia is committed to leading the way in offshore wind. We are rising to this challenge with this 2,600-megawatt commercial offshore wind development.”

The project would be located in the 112,800 acres Dominion Energy is leasing from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. Following the filing with PJM, Dominion expects to begin ocean survey work in 2020 and submit a Construction and Operations Plan in 2022.

Dominion Energy plans to complete the project in three phases, which each total 880 MW and will come online in 2024, 2025 and 2026, respectively.

In June, the company began construction on the 12 MW the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project, which is the first fully permitted wind project in U.S. federal waters. The company expects to complete the project in 2020.

The projects support Dominion’s goal of reducing its carbon emissions by 55 percent by 2030. Virginia Governor Ralph Northam recently signed an executive order which sets a goal to source 100 percent of Virginia’s electricity production from carbon-free sources by 2050.

“We applaud Governor Northam’s ambitious goal of 2,500 megawatts of offshore wind by 2026 and Dominion Energy’s announcement of a large-scale project that’s up to the challenge,” Laura Smith Morton, senior director of offshore wind for the American Wind Energy Association, said. “Offshore wind will strengthen Virginia’s economy with many highly-skilled careers and new investments in the shipbuilding, port, and coastal infrastructure needed to deploy and maintain this new American energy source.”