BOEM completes environmental analysis of Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project
The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has completed its environmental analysis of Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project.
The Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) of the 2.6-gigawatt project planned off the Virginia Beach coast analyzed potential environmental impacts and mitigation measures associated with CVOW’s construction. It also reflects feedback from Tribal Nations, ocean users, local communities, the offshore wind industry, and other interested stakeholders.
“The completion of CVOW’s environmental review is another significant milestone to keep the project on time and on budget. Regulated offshore wind has many benefits for our customers and local economies – it’s fuel free, emissions free and diversifies our fuel mix to maintain the reliability of the grid,” Bob Blue, Dominion Energy’s chair, president, and CEO, said. “Today’s announcement reinforces the confidence that the company, our vendors and our suppliers have in our project’s completion, providing further motivation to maintain focus on delivering on time and on budget knowing we and our government partners continue to meet critical milestones.”
The EIS incorporates public comments as well as extensive studies, evaluations, and designs to maximize CVOW’s environmental benefits and minimize potential impacts. This includes actions taken offshore to minimize impacts to marine life, such as North Atlantic right whales. It also includes measures taken onshore to design a transmission route that avoids impacts to natural and cultural resources and environmental justice communities to the maximum extent possible.
Dominion is proposing to construct 176 14.7-megawatt wind turbines and three offshore substations in a 112,800-acre commercial lease area located 27 miles off the Virginia Beach coast. This is the largest offshore wind project under development in the United States. When it is in operation, CVOW will produce enough electricity for 660,000 Virginia homes and generate expected fuel savings of more than $3 billion for customers during the project’s first 10 years of operation.
CVOW is expected to create hundreds of direct and indirect jobs during construction and more than a thousand during operations.
The Notice of Availability for the final EIS will be published in the Federal Register on Sept. 29.
