Largest offshore development in the USA announced
Dominion Energy has proposed the largest offshore wind development in the USA totaling 2.6 GW to provide more renewable energy to its customers in the Commonwealth and provide a boost to the offshore wind industry on the East Coast of the United States.
The company filed an application with PJM, the regional transmission organization that coordinates the electrical grid in all or parts of 13 states and the District of Columbia, to interconnect the proposed turbines to the transmission grid.
If approved, the project would be located in the 112,800 acres which Dominion Energy currently is leasing from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. Following the key filing with PJM, ocean survey work is expected to begin in 2020 and a Construction and Operations Plan will be submitted in 2022.
Dominion Energy plans to move forward with its commercial offshore wind project in three phases, each totaling 880 megawatts. The first phase of the buildout will support initial generation of wind energy by 2024. Additional phases will come online in 2025 and 2026, totaling more than 2,600 megawatts of energy, enough to power 650,000 homes during peak wind.
Dominion Energy's filing is a vital first step to move forward in developing Virginia's full offshore wind potential. The company looks forward to working with the Northam Administration and other partners on next steps in public policy needed to realize both the clean energy and economic potential of offshore wind.
"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. "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."
