The offshore wind industry in the Mid-Atlantic region continues it’s streak of victory, following New Jersey’s newly approved offshore wind manufacturing facility—the first in the country—with its very own project, which is one of the first concrete steps to realizing Virginia’s potential of developing and expanding its renewable energy infrastructure.

The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) demonstration project, which consists of two six-megawatt wind turbines located approximately 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach, is set to be the first offshore wind project installed in federal waters. It was approved by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) in June 2019, one of the seven proposed Offshore Wind Demonstration Projects across the country that aim to “enhance the deployment of stronger, more efficient offshore wind energy technologies – thereby helping to further lower costs and drive greater performance.”

Dominion Energy, an American electric utility company, is heading the project in partnership with Ørsted. On July 1, the beginning of construction was marked by a groundbreaking ceremony attended by Virginia Governor Ralph Northam. “The Virginia offshore wind demonstration project is another powerful example of the Commonwealth’s position as a leader in renewable energy,” said Governor Northam. “As the first deployment of commercial-scale offshore wind turbines in federal waters, I am thrilled that Virginia’s project will help determine best practices for future offshore wind construction along the East Coast,” he added. 

The CVOW project is expected to generate power to 3,000 homes and will produce research and development results to inform the development of large-scale commercial wind deployment in the adjacent Virginia Wind Energy Area leased by Dominion Energy from BOEM. Dominion Energy notes that the project “will also help create the expertise and the necessary domestic supply chains that will ultimately lower the costs of offshore wind development.”

Developing both the CVOW and commercial-scale project could support more than 2,000 megawatts of renewable energy, enough to power 500,000 homes and can transform the clean energy future not only of the state, but the entire country.