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.”