Federal approval process starts for Va. Beach wind farm

Friday will mark an important milestone for Dominion Energy Inc.’s wind energy plans, as the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management begins its two-year permitting and environmental review of the 2.6-gigawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project. That’s the next step before construction begins in 2024, Dominion said in a news release.

Gov. Ralph Northam and U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine joined U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland in Norfolk on Thursday to announce the BOEM’s plan to publish the Notice of Intent in Friday’s federal record, which opens a 30-day public comment period and the bureau’s environmental review of the CVOW project 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach, which will be the nation’s largest offshore wind farm.

At completion, the $7.8 billion project will have 180 to 190 wind turbines and power up to 660,000 homes during peak winds. Construction is scheduled to be finished by 2026, and Thursday’s announcement keeps the timeline in place.

“The Notice of Intent marks an important regulatory milestone and ensures CVOW remains on schedule to complete construction in 2026, so we can deliver clean, renewable offshore wind energy to Dominion Energy Virginia customers,” Dominion Energy Chair, President and CEO Robert M. Blue said in a statement. “We look forward to continuing to work with our federal regulators and the public as we move forward with the environmental review process.”

Two 600-foot turbines, which generate 12 megawatts of energy, were completed in June 2020 as a pilot project on 112,800 acres leased from the BOEM, which Dominion acquired rights to in 2013.