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Tag: wind energy

Big tech company to buy power from Va.’s first onshore wind farm

Even as political winds shift in Washington, D.C., a long-delayed onshore wind farm in Botetourt County might finally be sailing to completion.

Charlottesville-based Apex Clean Energy announced Wednesday that it has reached a deal for Google to purchase the full capacity of Rocky Forge Wind, a wind farm the Charlottesville company has been working to develop in Botetourt since 2015.

Virginia’s first and only wind farm being developed on land, Rocky Forge calls for 13 turbines, each  64 stories tall, to be erected atop North Mountain outside the rural town of Eagle Rock. Collectively, the turbines will generate about 79 megawatts of power, which Google will use to support its data centers in Virginia, according to a news release.

The incoming Trump administration, which is not viewed as friendly toward wind energy, is not expected to affect the development of the Rocky Forge wind farm.

“On the administration side of things, no federal policy change would impact this project. I can’t speak for offshore,” said Brian O’Shea, director of public engagement for Apex Clean Energy, in late November.

The Rocky Forge project has faced stiff headwinds since it was first unveiled. Legal challenges, permitting problems, design changes and the impacts of the pandemic have all combined to delay construction of the turbines.

In 2019, Dominion Energy struck a deal to purchase Rocky Forge’s power and resell it to Virginia state government to help meet its goal of sourcing at least 30% of electricity for state agencies from renewable energy sources. More obstacles developed, and that contract expired and wasn’t renewed.

The project regained momentum in September when the Virginia Court of Appeals rejected a legal challenge by upholding a circuit court ruling that had approved the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s permit for Apex. Two other lawsuits against the project were dismissed by a circuit court judge in January.

Construction on the project is now set to start in 2025, with electricity generated by late 2026, according to O’Shea.

Botetourt County still must complete a final site-plan review that includes gaining approval from the Virginia Department of Transportation for improvements to a gravel road that would allow heavy equipment and tractor-trailers access to the remote mountaintop. Local fire and emergency services must also review the road plan, according to Botetourt County spokeswoman Tiffany Bradbury.

Rocky Forge would mark the second partnership for Apex and Google, which aims to achieve net-zero emissions and 24/7 carbon-free energy for its operations by 2030. In August 2023, the two companies announced a power purchase agreement for the energy generated by Apex’s Timbermill Wind project in Chowan County, North Carolina.

“As we continue to progress towards our goal to operate every Google campus on clean electricity every hour of every day by 2030, we are always looking for opportunities to accelerate the delivery of new clean power to the grid,” Amanda Peterson Corio, head of data center energy for Google, said in a statement.

Rocky Forge will create up to 250 jobs during construction and will bring about $30 million in state and local tax revenue over the lifetime of the wind farm, according to Apex.

“As far as I can tell, it’s full steam ahead,” said Botetourt County Administrator Gary Larrowe in  November.

Or, in this case, full wind ahead.

Dominion completes $2.6B sale of stake in offshore wind farm

Dominion Energy has completed its $2.6 billion sale of a 50% noncontrolling stake in its Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project to investor Stonepeak, the Fortune 500 utility announced Tuesday.

This transaction and several other recent sales reduce Dominion’s debt by approximately $21 billion, meeting a goal the utility set in a recent business review, according to its news release Wednesday.

The Stonepeak deal was announced in February and was estimated at nearly $3 billion, a number that went down to $2.6 billion at closing. Dominion will retain full operational control of construction and operations of the $9.8 billion CVOW project, under construction 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. As of August, the 50th monopile foundation for CVOW’s 174 turbines was installed, and Dominion officials said in October the project, set to be complete in 2026, is on time and on budget.

Dominion’s deal with Stonepeak improves its estimated 2024 consolidated FFO-to-debt by approximately 1%, as well as lowering risks and reducing its overall financing needs during the wind farm’s construction.

Dominion has announced several acquisitions and sales over the past year:

  • In July, a Dominion subsidiary announced its plan to purchase the 40,000-acre Kitty Hawk North Wind offshore wind lease from Avangrid for $160 million.
  • In August, the utility won a 176,505-acre lease about 35 nautical miles from the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay for a $17.65 million bid in a Bureau of Ocean Energy Management auction.
  • Last year, Dominion sold its remaining interest in the Cove Point natural gas liquefaction facility in Maryland to Berkshire Hathaway Energy for $3.5 billion.
  • In March, the utility completed its sale of East Ohio Gas to Canadian pipeline and energy company Enbridge for $6.6 billion.
  • In June, Dominion sold subsidiaries Questar Gas and Wexpro to Enbridge for $4.3 billion.
  • Earlier this month, Dominion closed on its $3.2 billion sale of the Gastonia, North Carolina, natural gas utility Public Service Co. of North Carolina to Enbridge.

“We are pleased to partner with Stonepeak on CVOW, which continues to proceed on-time and on-budget, consistent with our previously communicated timing and cost expectations,” Dominion Chair, President and CEO Bob Blue said in a statement. “Stonepeak is one of the world’s largest infrastructure investors in large energy projects such as offshore wind, and its financial participation in CVOW will benefit both the project and the people who will rely on electricity from CVOW to keep the lights on and fuel economic growth in the commonwealth.”

Stonepeak, headquartered in New York, will fund 50% of remaining project costs, according to the statement.

Dominion files energy plan that includes more wind, nuclear

Dominion Energy Virginia filed its 2024 Integrated Resource Plan on Tuesday with the Virginia State Corporation Commission and the North Carolina Utilities Commission, setting out its long-term plans for energy generation over the next 15 years. The report calls for more offshore wind and solar energy development, as well as small modular nuclear reactors starting in the mid-2030s, according to Dominion’s news release.

More battery storage facilities are also part of the plan. Natural gas will produce about 20% of all power generated for its service area in the future, and the remaining 80% is expected to be carbon-free energy, the Fortune 500 utility said in its statement. Dominion notes, however, that the IRP is an estimate for the next 15 years.

“Given uncertainty in technological development and changing laws over an extended 15-year period, the company’s path forward is likely a combination of these portfolios as well as incorporation of new technologies as they become commercially available,” the plan says.

In broad terms, Dominion’s plans include:

  • Approximately 3,400 megawatts of new offshore wind in addition to the 2,600-megawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project currently under development off the coast of Virginia Beach
  • About 12,000 megawatts of new solar energy, a more than 150% increase to solar energy Dominion currently has in operation or under development
  • About 4,500 megawatts of new battery storage
  • Small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) beginning in the mid-2030s
  • Natural gas will be used as backup power “to ensure the lights stay on when the company’s growing wind and solar fleet are not producing electricity.”

Dominion’s investment in wind and nuclear energy, as well as increasing electricity demands related to data center growth, have been in the headlines recently.

Power demand is expected to grow 5.5% annually over the next decade in Dominion’s service areas in Virginia and North Carolina and double by 2039, according to a forecast by PJM, the regional transmission organization that runs the electrical grid in 12 states and Washington, D.C., including Virginia.

“We are experiencing the largest growth in power demand since the years following World War II,” Ed Baine, president of Dominion Energy Virginia, said in a statement. “No single energy source, grid solution or energy efficiency program will reliably serve the growing needs of our customers. We need an ‘all-of-the-above’ approach, and we are developing innovative solutions to ensure we deliver for our customers. I am proud of the affordability we deliver, with residential rates 14% below the national average, and as shown in the plan we intend to continue that focus. Our comprehensive plan ensures we can always deliver reliable, affordable and increasingly clean energy — day or night, rain or shine, winter or summer.”

The “all-of-the-above” plan echoes one voiced by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who has pushed development of small nuclear reactors throughout his term as governor. Under the 2020 Virginia Clean Economy Act, Dominion is required to shift to carbon-free, renewable energy sources for electricity generation by 2045.

In July, Dominion officials said they were issuing a request for proposals to potentially develop an SMR from nuclear technology companies, stressing that it was not a commitment to build an SMR at the North Anna nuclear power plant in Louisa County, but the first step in evaluating the feasibility of doing so. In August, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved 20-year extensions for North Anna’s two nuclear reactors, allowing them to operate through 2058 and 2060.

Meanwhile, Dominion has moved forward on its $9.8 billion CVOW project and made other moves to increase wind energy production in the future. By the end of the month, the utility expects to have about half of the monopile foundations installed for 174 turbines, with the 2.6-gigawatt offshore wind farm’s completion set for 2026. In Tuesday’s announcement, Dominion says the project is on time and on budget.

Also, in July, a Dominion subsidiary agreed to purchase the Kitty Hawk North Wind offshore wind lease from Avangrid for $160 million. The 40,000-acre lease will be renamed CVOW-South and will be capable of 800 megawatts of offshore wind generation in the 2030s, enough to serve 200,000 customers. In August, Dominion won a 176,505-acre lease about 35 nautical miles from the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay for a $17.65 million bid in a Bureau of Ocean Energy Management auction. That area could support between 2.1 gigawatts and 4.0 gigawatts of electricity, in addition to other wind energy generated at CVOW.

According to the IRP, in 2023, the utility delivered 36% of all power to customers via natural gas, 29.2% by nuclear, 22.7% by third-party power purchases, and 5% by coal. Renewable energy produced by Dominion or purchased from third-party solar and energy storage resources represents 5% of all power delivered to customers last year.

The plan also notes that Dominion has completed more than 90 miles of new and rebuilt transmission lines and 13 new substations in the first half of 2024, projects that improve electric grid infrastructure.

Dominion Energy secures new offshore wind lease for $17.7M

A Dominion Energy subsidiary won provisional rights to a 176,505-acre lease area off Virginia Beach’s coast, adjacent to the section of the ocean where the $9.8 billion Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project is being constructed, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced Wednesday.

Virginia Electric and Power Co. bid $17.65 million, or approximately $100 per acre, for the lease area about 35 nautical miles from the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. The Fortune 500 utility’s winning bid gives Dominion the option to construct more wind turbines, beyond the 176-turbine CVOW wind farm, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2026 and produce up to 2.6 gigawatts of electricity, powering 660,000 customers’ homes and businesses.

The area leased by Dominion could support between 2.1 gigawatts and 4.0 gigawatts of offshore wind energy generation, according to a news release from the company.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which governs leasing of ocean property, auctioned off two East Coast wind leases Wednesday. The other lease, 101,443 acres off Delaware Bay, was provisionally won by Equinor Wind US, which bid $75 million. Six companies participated in the auction, according to a federal news release. The leases don’t authorize construction or operation of an offshore wind facility, but they provide the right to submit a project plan for BOEM’s review. 

This was the fifth offshore wind lease sale held during the Biden-Harris administration, which has set a goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030. Wednesday’s sale resulted in more than $23 million bidding credits, $11 million of which will go toward workforce training and domestic supply chain, and $11 million for compensatory funding for affected fisheries.

“Offshore wind is critical to our all-of-the-above approach to meet the unprecedented growth of our customer electric demand over the next decade,” Robert M. Blue, chair, president and CEO of Dominion Energy, said in a statement. “Winning this lease area gives us another low-cost option to meet that growing demand.”

Wednesday’s news came after Dominion’s announcement in July that it plans to acquire a 40,000-acre offshore wind lease off North Carolina’s Outer Banks for $160 million from Avangrid, a Connecticut-based sustainable energy company, with the deal expected to close in the fourth quarter of the year. That property will be called CVOW-South and, if fully built out, is expected to generate 800 megawatts of electricity, enough capacity to serve 200,000 homes and businesses. Dominion said last month that it does not yet have detailed cost or timeline estimates for the project.

On Monday, Dominion Energy announced workers had completed the foundation for the 50th monopile for the CVOW project. Monopiles are the foundation posts of the 176 turbines being erected.

Dominion Energy expects to hit its target of setting between 70 and 100 monopiles into the sea floor by the end of October, and have the wind farm operational by the end of 2026. Dominion will take a break from installing the wind turbines between Nov. 1, 2024, and April 30, 2025, due to federal protections for endangered North Atlantic right whales. 

Dominion announced in February that it plans to sell a $3 billion, 50% stake in CVOW this year to investment firm Stonepeak, although Dominion will retain control of construction and operations of the wind farm. The deal is expected to close at the end of the year.

In April, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland announced a new five-year offshore wind leasing schedule, which includes up to 12 potential offshore wind lease sales through 2028.

Clear waters

After receiving its final federal approvals in January, Dominion Energy’s $9.8 billion Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project remains on track for completion in late 2026, at which point the 2.6-gigawatt project could power up to 660,000 homes.

“CVOW is on budget, on time, and we’re gearing up for construction and excited about getting it to this point,” says Dominion spokesperson Jeremy Slayton.

At the Portsmouth Marine Terminal, Dominion had 24 monopiles — the roughly 272-foot-long foundation posts for the massive 800-plus-foot-tall wind turbines — staged in late February, and 12 additional monopiles were scheduled for an April delivery. Dominion plans to begin installing monopiles 27 miles off the Virginia Beach coast on May 1 and expects to have about half of the 176 posts installed by Oct. 31.

Because of federal protections for endangered North Atlantic right whales, the Richmond-based Fortune 500 utility can’t work on installing the foundations from November through April. With that restriction, Dominion plans to install the remaining foundations in 2025 and begin turbine installation, which can take place year-round, in the 113,000-acre area of the Atlantic Ocean it’s leasing, Slayton says.

The project also includes three offshore substations, manufacturing on which began in fall 2022, although installation of the first substation’s topside foundations is set for late 2024 or early 2025 because the structures require underwater work first.

Onshore, Dominion is working on the electric transmission route and electrical infrastructure that’s scheduled to be operational in late 2025, although some work will continue into 2026. Drilling is set to be complete later this year for two separate portions of the project — the pipes where the offshore cables will come ashore and the underground transmission line.

On Feb. 22, Dominion announced it had reached an agreement with investment firm Stonepeak to sell a 50% noncontrolling stake in the project for nearly $3 billion. The deal, which requires approval from Virginia, North Carolina and federal regulatory agencies, is expected to close by the end of this year.

At the deal’s close, Dominion expects to receive $3 billion, minus a withholding amount of $145 million. If construction costs remain $9.8 billion or less, excluding financing costs, Dominion will get back $100 million from the withholding amount. But if construction costs total more than $11.3 billion, Dominion will not receive any of the withheld amount, and if the project costs reach that threshold, Stonepeak and Dominion would each contribute half of the additional capital costs. 

Meanwhile, the National Legal and Policy Center, a Falls Church-based nonprofit conservative watchdog group, filed a federal lawsuit in March aiming to stop construction of CVOW, claiming it would pose a risk to North American right whales. Dominion said in a statement that the arguments raised in the lawsuit “have no merit.”

Creating a hub

Hampton Roads leaders expect the CVOW project to be a catalyst for economic development in the region.

Each year during construction, CVOW could support 900 direct and indirect jobs, about 60% of which would be in Hampton Roads, according to Dominion. Its ongoing operations could support about 1,100 jobs in the region annually.

However, not all is sunshine and roses.

In November 2023, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy canceled its plans to build the United States’ first offshore wind turbine blade manufacturing facility at the Portsmouth Marine Terminal, a $200 million project expected to create 310 jobs. The Spanish-German company said it couldn’t meet “development milestones” to establish the plant, although Siemens Gamesa said it would fulfill its production obligations for CVOW.

Nonetheless, Mike Hopkins, managing director of Fairwinds Landing, a $100 million maritime operations and logistics center in Norfolk, says his company is “very bullish on … offshore wind, and we’re confident this industry is going to take off and Hampton Roads is going to be a hub for offshore wind.”

Construction is underway on an offshore wind monitoring and coordination center for Dominion at Fairwinds Landing, and several other tenants are involved in aspects of the industry. Also, maritime companies operating in the region have announced workforce expansions, like Norfolk-based Lyon Shipyard, which said last year it plans to add 134 jobs as it increases work on commercial ships and vessels servicing the wind farm project.

At the Port of Virginia’s Portsmouth terminal, where the wind farm’s monopiles are received and staged, construction is underway on $220 million in upgrades, expected to be complete by the end of 2025.

Virginia Port Authority Board Chair Aubrey Layne Jr. says the port has to reinforce 72 acres to be used by Dominion, “basically so [the area and facilities] can handle the weight.”

Dominion starting construction on the wind farm in May is “fantastic for the state of Virginia, and our ability to attract suppliers,” adds Matt Smith, Hampton Roads Alliance’s director of energy and water technology.

“As the industry builds out,” he adds, “the things that make Hampton Roads attractive” — such as its port infrastructure, maritime workforce and favorable business environment — “are going to continue to be so.” 

Conservative groups sue to stop Dominion wind farm

A nonprofit conservative watchdog group based in Falls Church filed a lawsuit Monday against Dominion Energy, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the U.S. Department of the Interior and other government bodies, aiming to stop construction of Dominion’s offshore wind farm expected to begin this spring 27 miles off the Virginia Beach coast.

The National Legal and Policy Center and its co-plaintiffs seek a preliminary injunction against the federal government’s approval of Dominion’s $9.8 billion, 176-turbine Commercial Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project, claiming the massive wind turbines pose a risk to North American right whales under the Endangered Species Act. The lawsuit also claims that the BOEM and other agencies illegally overlooked risks to the endangered whales in approving the wind farm — while also criticizing President Joe Biden’s January 2021 executive order mandating an increase in clean energy production, including offshore wind energy.

The National Marine Fisheries Service is also named as a defendant; the lawsuit asks for a court order setting aside an opinion issued by the NMFS regarding the wind farm’s risk to the endangered whale species, part of the BOEM’s approval process.

Construction on the turbines and three offshore substations in a nearly 113,000-acre area is expected to begin in May.

Defendants in the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, include U.S. Commerce Sec. Gina Raimondo; U.S. Interior Sec. Deb Haaland; Elizabeth Klein, the BOEM’s director; and Janet Coit, director of the NMFS. In addition to NLPC and its co-founder and chairman, Peter Flaherty, the plaintiffs are Washington, D.C.-based Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, a nonprofit organization advocating for free market solutions to environmental issues, and its founder, Craig Rucker; and Illinois-based The Heartland Institute, a libertarian and conservative think tank known for climate change denial.

“The CVOW project — during its construction, operation and decommission phases — will adversely affect the federally listed [North American right whale], which uses the waters within and near the CVOW project area for migration, feeding and other key life history events,” the complaint says, claiming that there are only 340 North American right whales in existence. The NMFS reported in 2022 that there were approximately 360 of the whales, and that since 2017, there have been more than 120 whales injured or killed by “unusual mortality event[s].”

In February 2023, a male North American right whale washed up in Virginia Beach, in which the whale was determined to have died after a blunt force injury likely caused by a collision with a vessel, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Two dead whales washed ashore in Virginia Beach earlier this month, but they were juvenile humpback whales, which are not endangered.

Dominion, which received final federal approvals to start construction in January, responded to the lawsuit with a statement: “The issues raised in this lawsuit have no merit. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has done an extraordinarily thorough environmental review of the project and carefully considered potential impacts to marine wildlife and the environment. The overwhelming consensus of federal agencies and scientific organizations is that offshore wind does not adversely impact marine life. We’ve put in place strong environmental protections for this project, and are confident the North Atlantic right whale will be protected.”

NLPC was started in 1991 by Ken Boehm and Flaherty, and reports on ethics of public officials and corporations, as well as issuing some legal challenges. Over the years, the organization has filed election law complaints against former Democratic presidential candidate Al Sharpton, U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters and former U.S. Rep. Alan Mollohan. The group also filed a complaint with the Department of Defense’s inspector general in 2003, producing evidence that a DOD procurement officer had sold her house to a Boeing executive who was working on a tanker deal with the Pentagon, a scandal that led to the firing of Boeing’s chief financial officer, Michael M. Sears, and the procurement officer, Darleen Druyun, who also received federal prison sentences.

Dominion to sell 50% interest in Va. Beach offshore wind farm for $3B

Dominion Energy announced Thursday it has reached an agreement with investment firm Stonepeak to sell a 50% noncontrolling stake in the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind commercial project off the Virginia Beach coast for nearly $3 billion.

If the sale is approved by the Virginia State Corporation Commission and the North Carolina Utilities Commission, as well as federal regulatory agencies, Richmond-based Dominion will retain full operational control of construction and operations of the $9.8 billion CVOW project, which has received final federal approvals and is expected to start construction in May. The deal is expected to close by the end of this year, according to Dominion’s news release.

“The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project continues to proceed on time and on budget and consistent with our previously communicated timing and cost expectations,” Bob Blue, Dominion’s chair, president and CEO, said in a statement Thursday. “A competitive partnership process attracted high-quality interest, resulting in a compelling partner for CVOW. Stonepeak is one of the world’s largest infrastructure investors, with more than $61 billion in assets under management and an extensive track record of investment in large and complex energy infrastructure projects, including offshore wind. Their significant financial participation will benefit both our project and our customers.”

Under the deal announced Thursday, Dominion Energy expects to receive $3 billion — representing 50% of the offshore wind farm’s construction costs through the anticipated closing of the deal by Dec. 31, minus $145 million, the initial withholding amount. If total construction costs remain at the current budget of $9.8 billion or less, excluding financing costs, Dominion will get back $100 million from the withholding amount.

However, if construction costs more than $11.3 billion, the Fortune 500 utility will receive no money back from the withheld $145 million. If the project costs reach $11.3 billion, Stonepeak and Dominion would each contribute 50% of additional capital costs needed to fund construction, but if the project costs between $11.3 billion and $13.7 billion, Stonepeak would not be required to contribute more capital to pay the additional costs, although it has the option to do so, the announcement says.

In terms of structure, Stonepeak would invest in a newly formed subsidiary of Dominion Energy Virginia, which would be a public utility based in Virginia. The transaction is expected to improve Dominion’s estimated 2024 consolidated FFO-to-debt by approximately 1% and reduce the utility’s overall financing needs during construction, according to the announcement Thursday.

McGuireWoods and Morgan Lewis served as Dominion’s legal advisers on the deal, while Citi and Goldman Sachs acted as co-financial advisers for the utility.

The 2.6-gigawatt CVOW, the largest offshore wind farm in the U.S., is expected to power 660,000 homes once it is fully constructed in late 2026. CVOW will consist of 176 turbines and three offshore substations in a nearly 113,000-acre lease area off the coast of Virginia Beach. Vinson & Elkins served as legal adviser to Stonepeak, while Mizuho Securities USA, through its affiliate Greenhill & Co., and Santander US Capital Markets served as co-financial advisers.

Keeping finances solid

In September 2023, during Dominion’s second-quarter earnings report, the utility said it intended to sell a noncontrolling interest in the CVOW to lower risk in the project and solidify the company’s balance sheet. In November 2023, Dominion officials said during its third-quarter earnings call that it was in advanced stages of the process to find a co-investor. The utility also announced in November it had filed an adjustment with the SCC that would lower the levelized cost of electricity estimate for CVOW from $80 to $90 per megawatt hour (MWh) to $77/MWh.

“Dominion’s framework may be somewhat more appealing for an investor to potentially become a part owner of the project,” said Mike Doyle, a senior equity analyst for utilities at Edward Jones, in an interview with Utility Dive last November. However, he added that the lowered price was surprising, given that costs are rising across the U.S. offshore wind industry, as some developers have had to cancel existing power-purchase agreements due to higher project costs.

Speaking with Virginia Business on Thursday, Doyle said he was a little surprised by the Stonepeak deal, “given the state of the offshore wind industry in the United States” and its higher costs, and the cost-sharing agreement between Dominion and the investment firm is unusual. “This [deal] has a little different structure. It probably is more intriguing to the investor.”

The fact that Dominion has remained on budget with the wind farm is significant, Doyle said. “They’re doing better than most.” He also said he doesn’t expect to see any big regulatory difficulties, especially if CVOW’s expenses stay on course. “Virginia is pretty motivated to get this done. Regulators want to see it happen.”

In Thursday’s fourth-quarter and full-year earnings report, Dominion reported $2 billion in net income for the calendar year 2023, up from $1.3 billion in 2022, and $14.39 billion in revenue for last year.

At start of trading Thursday, Dominion’s stock was at $45.62 a share, reaching a high of $46.96 before 10 a.m. and then fell to $44.88 before noon. As of 12:45 p.m., it was back up at $45.47 a share, a 1.78% decrease.

Stonepeak, which has 56 investments in 61 countries, specializes in infrastructure investments. In 2022, the firm raised about $14 billion, including $100 million from the Virginia Retirement System, to invest in assets such as telecommunications towers and warehouses. According to Stonepeak’s website, the firm invested in Dominion Midstream Partners, a limited partnership formed by Dominion to build its portfolio of natural gas assets, beginning in December 2016. In January 2019, Stonepeak realized its investment in Dominion, the site says.

Rob Kupchak, Stonepeak’s senior managing director, said in a statement, “Having previously partnered with Dominion Energy, we look forward to extending our relationship through CVOW, which is a fitting addition to our global renewables strategy given its potential to provide meaningful renewable capacity to the U.S., advanced stage of development, and downside-protected fundamentals. Dominion Energy’s impressive track record building and operating large-scale infrastructure projects paired with Stonepeak’s experience successfully constructing offshore wind assets gives us confidence in CVOW’s path forward, and we are excited to partner with Dominion in delivering this critical renewable energy generation resource to its customers.”

Different from other partnerships

This deal goes against the trend seen in owner partnerships of other offshore wind farms along the East Coast, said Timothy Fox, a managing director with Washington, D.C.-based research firm ClearView Energy Partners.

“I would call this partnership an outlier,” he said, “because we’re seeing the splitting of projects among companies rather than a partnership,” like BP and Norway-based Equinor’s division of two offshore wind projects off New York that they had previously been 50-50 partners in. Similarly, New England utility Eversource Energy sold its 50% stake in two offshore wind projects off the New York coast to Global Infrastructure Partners, exiting its partnership with Ørsted, earlier this month.

A likely reason that Dominion Energy is bucking this trend by gaining a partner is “because Virginia’s regulatory structure is unique among the states pursuing offshore wind,” Fox said.

“Virginia policy allows the incumbent utility to develop the project and get a cost-of-service return, basically guaranteeing they get a percent return on their investment,” he said. “And the ratepayers in Virginia pay Dominion for the project, and a return. That’s not the case for any other project along the East Coast,” projects which are being developed by independent project developers who have greater risk.

Along with Dominion’s business model as the developer and power offtaker from the CVOW project, its delivery timeline guarantees likely helped seal the deal, according to Atin Jain, a senior associate with BloombergNEF.

“In tough market conditions, certainty trumps everything else. Dominion’s assurance of ‘on-budget’ and ‘on-time’ delivery for the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project likely did the trick in getting the deal rolling,” Jain said in a statement.

Dominion offshore wind farm moves closer to final approval

Dominion Energy has passed another critical federal hurdle on its way to gaining approval to begin construction on its $9.8 billion, 176-turbine offshore wind farm 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management granted a favorable record of decision for the Richmond-based Fortune 500 electric utility’s 2.6-gigawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project Tuesday. The decision represents the final step in the National Environmental Policy Act review process for its construction and operations plan.

“Today’s decision balances the orderly development of OCS renewable energy with the prevention of interference with other uses of the OCS and the protection of the human, marine and coastal environments,” BOEM said in the record of decision. “A decision that balances these goals where they conflict and does not hold one as controlling over all others is consistent with the duties required.”

Also Tuesday, Dominion earned approval from the Department of the Interior for its construction and operation plan.

“The Interior Department is committed to the Biden-Harris administration’s all-of-government approach to the clean energy future, which helps respond to the climate crisis, lower energy costs, and create good-paying union jobs across the manufacturing, shipbuilding and construction sectors,” Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland said in a statement. “Today’s approval of the largest offshore wind project in U.S. history builds on the undeniable momentum we are seeing. Together with the labor community, industry, trribes and partners from coast to coast, we are aggressively working toward our clean energy goals.”  

The final approval for the wind farm’s construction and operations plan is expected to come from BOEM on Jan. 29, 2024, with Dominion slated to begin construction in May 2024. Once fully constructed in late 2026, the turbines will power up to 660,000 homes. 

“Receiving a favorable record of decision from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is a monumental achievement for Dominion Energy and the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind team,” Dominion CEO, Chair and President Bob Blue said in a statement. “More than a decade of work has gone into the development, design and permitting of CVOW. Offshore wind is a vital part of our strategy to provide our customers with a diverse fuel mix that delivers reliable, affordable and increasingly clean energy.”

The project will be the nation’s largest offshore wind farm and aligns with a state mandate that the Richmond-based Dominion go carbon-free by 2045. 

In mid-October, the first eight monopiles, the foundation posts for the massive wind turbines, arrived at Portsmouth Marine Terminal and state officials and Dominion executives celebrated their arrival from Germany Friday.

The monopiles, which are each about 272 feet long — about the length of a football field  — and 31 feet in diameter, will be driven into the seabed. Each turbine, when fully assembled, will be 836 feet high. 

In late September, BOEM announced it completed its environmental assessment of the project, a little more than two years after the review began.

Dominion is already operating two wind turbines off the Virginia Beach coast as part of a pilot project. The company said that more than 750 Virginia-based workers, about 530 of whom are in Hampton Roads, are working on the project or with businesses supporting it. Another 1,000 jobs are expected to be created to operate and maintain the turbines.

The record of decision will be published in the Federal Register later this week.

Rocky Forge project faces stiff headwinds

Eight years after it was first proposed, Virginia’s first onshore wind farm remains grounded behind regulatory, legal and political obstacles.

Charlottesville-based Apex Clean Energy first announced plans for its Rocky Forge wind farm in 2015. Apex aimed to have blades spinning by 2017 on 25, 550-foot-tall wind turbines on North Mountain, in a remote section of Botetourt County.

At first, the project seemed on track. County supervisors granted a permit in 2016, and a year later the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality granted final approval. But then Apex ran into issues finding a buyer for the proposed wind farm’s energy.

Years passed before Dominion Energy struck a deal to purchase the power and resell it to Virginia state government to help meet its goal of sourcing at least 30% of electricity for state agencies from renewable energy sources. More obstacles developed, and the contract expired and wasn’t renewed.

Wind technology also evolved, prompting Apex to reformulate its proposal, reducing the number of turbines from 25 to 13, but increasing the size of each to 643 feet high.

Additionally, a group of landowners in Botetourt and Rockbridge counties organized against Rocky Forge, joined by grassroots group Virginians for Responsible Energy. In 2020, 13 landowners filed a lawsuit challenging the DEQ’s approval. A circuit court upheld the permit, but the decision was appealed to the Virginia Court of Appeals. The group also has challenged the county’s extension of a site plan deadline and its approval of a temporary concrete-making facility near the Rocky Forge site.

Botetourt County spokesperson Tiffany Bradbury says county staff are still reviewing the newest plans for Rocky Forge. The county is allowing tree cutting and forestry at the site, “but we have issued no approvals for construction,” writes Bradbury.

Onshore wind projects require willing private landowners and proximity to transmission lines that can move the power to where it’s needed, says Dan Crawford, chair of onshore wind promotion for environmental group the Sierra Club’s Roanoke chapter, which supports the project.

“Some people tell me, ‘We don’t need turbines on our mountains; we’re going to have offshore wind,’” Crawford says. “We need everything we can get. We need offshore, especially for big consumption near the shore, and we need onshore. It’s competitive in terms of price, and it works. People just don’t want to see it.”  

Massive foundation posts arrive for Dominion’s offshore wind farm

The first eight monopiles, the wind-turbine foundation posts for Dominion Energy’s $9.8 billion offshore wind farm, arrived at Portsmouth Marine Terminal on Oct. 19, and state officials and Dominion executives celebrated their arrival from Germany Friday.

In a ceremony Friday, Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Dominion Chair, President and CEO Bob Blue and state and local dignitaries marked the arrival of the monopiles, instrumental components in the construction of the planned 176 wind turbines to be erected 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach, making up a 2.6-gigawatt wind farm that will power 660,000 homes. 

Dominion’s proposed Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project will be the nation’s largest offshore wind farm and aligns with a state mandate that Richmond-based utility Dominion Energy generate all power from carbon-free sources by 2045. The Biden administration also has a goal of reaching 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030.

Stephen Edwards, CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority, Gov Glenn Youngkin, Virginia Transportation Secretary W. Sheppard “Shep” Miller III and Dominion Energy Chair, CEO and President Bob Blue signed a monopile Friday at Portsmouth Marine Terminal.
Photo by Robyn Sidersky

The monopiles, which are each about 272 feet long — about the length of a football field  — and 31 feet in diameter, will be driven into the seabed. Each turbine, when fully assembled, will be 836 feet high. 

Construction on the wind farm is set to begin in May, and the turbines will be operational by the end of 2026, Blue said. 

“This is the real beginning of the offshore construction part of the project,” Blue said. “To get the first delivery of them, on time and on budget, is critical for our company, for our customers, for the state, and we’re very excited to have all those partners here,” he said. 

He described seeing the monopiles arrive at Portsmouth Marine Terminal as “a great moment. … Seeing these and seeing the size makes it even more real.”

Massive single vertical steel cylinders, the monopiles are manufactured in Germany by EEW SPC, and the trip to ship the. across the Atlantic takes about 2 1/2 weeks. Eight will be delivered at a time until all 176 arrive in Hampton Roads.  

In late September, the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced it completed its environmental assessment of the project, a little more than two years after the review began. Approval of the entire project from BOEM is expected in the coming days.

Should the project attain approval, Dominion would still be required to receive BOEM’s final OK for its construction and operations plan, which could occur by February 2024. Virginia’s State Corporation Commission approved the project in August 2022.

Dominion is already operating two wind turbines off the Virginia Beach coast as part of a pilot project. The company said that more than 750 Virginia-based workers, about 530 of whom are in Hampton Roads, are working on the project or with businesses supporting it. Another 1,000 jobs are expected to be created to operate and maintain the turbines.