Story at a glance
- The energy company based in Richmond, Va., on Friday filed the required construction and operations plan with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to build a 2.64 GW wind project.
- Dominion estimates the wind farm will provide enough renewable electricity to power up to 660,000 homes upon the project’s completion in 2026.
- The wind farm will be located 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach across 112,800 acres that were obtained by Dominion Energy in 2013.
Dominion Energy has taken the next step toward constructing the largest offshore wind farm in the U.S.
The energy company based in Richmond, Va., on Friday filed the required construction and operations plan with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to build a 2.64 GW wind project.
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The filing kicks off a two-year federal review process. Pending approval, construction of the project is scheduled to start in 2024.
Dominion estimates the wind farm will provide enough renewable electricity to power up to 660,000 homes upon the project’s completion in 2026. The project could create about 900 jobs and $143 million in economic impact annually during construction, and 1,100 jobs and nearly $210 million in economic impact each year during operation of the turbines.
“This is an important step in the process toward bringing commercial-scale offshore wind to the Commonwealth and shows Dominion Energy is committed to delivering the clean, renewable and reliable energy our customers expect from us,” Joshua Bennett, Dominion Energy’s vice president of offshore wind, said in a statement.
The wind farm will be located 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach across 112,800 acres that were obtained by Dominion Energy in 2013.
Dominion earlier this year wrapped up the first phase of the project. The company built two 12 MW turbines adjacent to the site of the future project. The turbines are already operational but still need to undergo BOEM’s technical review before officially entering service.
The wind project is part of Dominion’s goal to be 100 percent carbon-free by 2045, as required by the Virginia Clean Economy Act that went into law earlier this year.
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Published on Dec 23,2020