Virginia-based Dominion Energy plans to seek approval from the State Corporation Commission (SCC) for its proposed Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project later this summer.
The 12-megawatt facility would be the first of its kind in the Mid-Atlantic, located in a federal lease area about 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach.
The two-turbine test project is being developed through a partnership with Denmark’s Ørsted.
The facility will be built on a 2,135-acre site leased by the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy.
The two turbines should be in operation by late 2020 and are expected to provide the operational, weather and environmental experience needed for large-scale development in the adjacent 112,800-acre site leased by Dominion Energy from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM).
If fully developed, the large-scale lease area could generate up to 2GW of offshore wind energy. Ørsted holds exclusive rights to discuss a strategic partnership with Dominion Energy about developing the commercial site based on the successful deployment of the pilot wind farm.
The 12MW project is part of Dominion Energy’s first set of plans filed under Virginia’s new Grid Transformation & Security Act (GTSA) through which the energy company commits to having 3GW of solar and wind power under development or operational by 2022.