Dominion Energy pioneering renewable innovation with offshore wind project
BY GREGORY J GILLIGAN
Dominion Energy is unleashing the potential of wind energy 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach, pushing the boundaries of renewable energy innovation.
John Larson, Dominion Energy’s director of Public Policy and Economic Development, discusses the wind farm during a tour on June 17.
Offshore construction on the commercial-scale wind project began in mid-May with the installation of the first monopile foundation into the Atlantic Ocean. A total of 176 monopiles will be embedded into the sea floor over the next 2-plus years to support each of the new wind turbines.
Those 176 wind turbines are expected to generate a total of 2.6-gigawatts of electricity – enough clean, sustainable energy to power up to 660,000 homes a year, or about 25 percent of the Richmond-based utility’s residential load in Virginia, Dominion Energy said.
The full construction comes nearly four years after Dominion Energy built its first two pilot turbines that each generates 6-megawatts – enough to power up to 3,000 homes. Those turbines have been operational since October 2020.
The full-scale construction project now underway builds on the success of the two test turbines, John Larson, Dominion Energy’s director of Public Policy and Economic Development, said during a tour of the wind farm on June 17.
“We are very proud and excited that we have been able to work through all of our state, local and federal permitting and the lessons learned from these two pilot turbines to set us up for success with the larger 176 wind turbines,” Larson said.
Full construction of the 176 wind turbines is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
Dominion Energy’s $9.8 billion Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project is the largest offshore wind project in the United States, Larson said.
The wind farm spans a 112,800-acre lease area, situated just east of the existing pilot project, which is 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. This entire lease area – equivalent to 85,000 football fields – lies between 27 and 42 miles from the shoreline.
Each of the 1,500-ton monopiles serves as the foundation for the turbines that will be erected. As of June 17, about 10 monopile foundations had been embedded into the sea floor.
Dominion Energy hopes to have about 90 monopiles installed by the end of October 2024 – or about one a day.
Work on the monopiles can only take place from May through October to avoid the North Atlantic right whale migrating through the area, said Mitchell Jabs, the offshore wind project’s environmental permitting manager.
Each of the up to 272-feet long cylindrical steel monopile foundations is embedded roughly 125 feet into the sea floor.
About six monopiles at a time are transferred from Portsmouth Marine Terminal onto the installation vessel called the Orion.
The heavy-lift crane on the Orion is about 300 feet tall – nearly the height of the Statue of Liberty. The vessel is equipped with two types of hammers for installing the monopiles. One vibrates the monopile until it penetrates the sea floor, after which impact installation secures it in place.
Dominion Energy is using underwater noise mitigation technologies to monitor and protect marine mammals. The company also has observers on boats circling an area before the monopiles are installed to track protected species, Jabs said.
“We feel very confident that our mitigations are comprehensive,” Jabs said.
During the November through April season, transition pieces will be installed onto each monopile. The 176 turbines will be about 200 feet taller than the initial two 600-foot pilot turbines.
The turbines are built to withstand a Category 3 Hurricane, and are designed to withstand wind gusts of 178 miles per hour and sustained wind gusts of 127 mph. Each turbine has an expected lifespan of 30 years.
Dominion Energy also will be building three offshore substations to get the power from the wind turbines to land.
The project started in November 2013 when Dominion Energy acquired the 112,800-acre lease via auction for $1.7 million.
The renewable energy project is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, diversify energy supply, and generate affordable electricity for homes and businesses.
Development of the wind farm also is expected to help boost industry sectors and the regional economy.
Offshore wind manufacturers and related supply chain companies have located or expanded operations in Virginia, from Hampton Roads to the Richmond area, to support the installation and operations of the offshore wind industry. These businesses, and many existing firms, are building the infrastructure required to support CVOW and the broader East Coast offshore wind industry. Upgrades to Portsmouth Marine Terminal and Dominion Energy’s Marine Coordination and Control Center at Fairwinds Landing require investing hundreds of millions of dollars in new or upgraded facilities that should generate thousands of new jobs.
Gregory J Gilligan is vice president of operations for RVA757 Connects. He and two dozen others took a tour of the wind project on June 17, 2024. The tour lasted nearly six hours — it took about two hours to get from Rudee Inlet to the site.