Dominion Energy is proposing to develop a 2.6GW wind farm off the coast of Virginia by 2026, which represents the largest offshore wind development in the U.S.
The news comes as Virginia’s Governor Ralph Northam signed an executive order which sets the goal of having up to 2.5GW of offshore wind developed in the state by 2026.
Dominion Energy filed an application with PJM to interconnect more than 220 proposed offshore wind turbines to the transmission grid.
If approved, the project would be located at the company’s 112,800ha lease area 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach.
Ocean survey work is expected to begin in 2020 and a Construction and Operations Plan to be submitted in 2022.
Building on an expected successful deployment of the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) demonstration project in 2020, Dominion Energy plans to move forward with the 2.6GW offshore wind project in three phases, each totaling 880MW.
The first phase will support the initial generation of wind energy by 2024, with additional phases coming online in 2025 and 2026.
“Offshore wind is an excellent renewable energy source and this filing with PJM shows how serious we are about bringing commercial-scale offshore wind to Virginia, giving our customers what they have asked for – more renewable energy,” said Mark D. Mitchell , Vice President of Generation Construction at Dominion Energy.
“Governor Ralph Northam has made it clear Virginia is committed to leading the way in offshore wind. We are rising to this challenge with this 2,600-megawatt commercial offshore wind development.”
CVOW, Virginia’s first offshore wind project, recently entered the construction phase with the kick-off of onshore works. The demonstration project will feature two Siemens Gamesa 6MW turbines on a 2,135ha area.