Orsted, Eversource strike deal with Dominion Energy on new offshore wind vessel

Orsted and Eversource have struck a deal with Dominion Energy’s Charybdis, the first Jones Act-qualified offshore wind turbine installation vessel in the United States, to construct two offshore wind farms in the Northeast.

Charybdis will first be deployed out of New London harbor in 2023 to support the construction of Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind, two projects developed by Orsted and Eversource. Once complete, the two projects will generate more than 1.6 gigawatts of renewable energy to serve nearly 1 million homes in Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York.

The charter’s terms will allow the vessel, subject to state regulatory approval, to support the construction of Dominion Energy’s 2.6-gigawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project off the coast of Virginia Beach, which will be completed in 2026.

Charybdis, a 472-foot vessel, is currently under construction. It is being built in Brownsville, Texas, at global marine shipbuilder firm Keppel AmFELS’s shipyard. The vessel’s hull and infrastructure will be fabricated with more than 14,000 tons of domestic steel, with nearly 10,000 tons sourced from Alabama, West Virginia, and North Carolina suppliers.

At peak construction, 1,000 U.S. workers will be employed on this project. Once complete, the vessel will be homeported in Hampton Roads, Va. The $500 million vessel will operate as part of Dominion Energy’s Contracted Assets segment. However, Dominion Energy’s customers will not experience any billing impact associated with the use of the vessel in support of the Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind projects. On Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind, the vessel will work from State Pier in New London, Conn.

“Offshore wind is critical to America’s clean-energy future, and the Charybdis plays a vital role in reaching the Biden Administration’s ambitious goal of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind production by 2030,” Bob Blue, Dominion Energy’s chair, president, and CEO. said. “We look forward to working with Ørsted and Eversource on the construction of Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind to continue to grow the offshore wind industry in the U.S.”

David Hardy, CEO of Orsted Offshore North America, “said this installation vessel is a “game-changer” for the development of the U.S. offshore wind industry.

“This investment will enable us to unlock the economic benefits of offshore wind, not just for the Northeast, but for the Southern states as well. We’re proud to partner with Dominion Energy and Eversource on this historic milestone,” Hardy said.

Joe Nolan, president and CEO of Eversource Energy, said the installation vessel is a major milestone for the offshore wind industry at both the local and national levels.

“As offshore wind continues to grow in Connecticut and throughout the U.S., we are seeing the birth of a new, domestic supply chain that will create thousands of jobs across the country for decades to come. We are proud to partner with Dominion Energy as the first-ever users of this new world-class vessel and bring it to New London to support our work at State Pier and deliver local jobs and economic investment,” Nolan said.