Dominion Energy’s (NYSE: D) $7.8 billion Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project is one step closer to becoming a reality after the Virginia Clean Economy Act was signed into law last weekend.
The legislation was greenlighted by Governor Ralph Northam, who has promised to boost projects that generate at least 2,500 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2026, as well as 3,000 megawatts of solar and land-based wind by 2022. The goal is that 73% or more of the state’s electricity comes from clean energy by 2035 and 100% by 2050.
Dominion, a company that supplies electricity in parts of Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, is a big player in this new context. Its CVOW project is expected to produce enough zero-carbon electricity to power 650,000 Virginia homes.
The proposal involves 220 wind turbines able to produce 2,600 megawatts, which will be installed on 112,800 acres leased from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and located 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach.
A pilot is already underway, with Dominion working towards completing two 6-megawatt turbines this spring. The system should be able to deliver power to the grid by the end of the year.
“Dominion Energy’s offshore wind projects are part of the company’s comprehensive clean energy strategy to achieve net-zero carbon dioxide and methane emissions from its power generation and gas infrastructure operations by 2050,” the firm said in a media statement.
“To accomplish this goal, the company is rapidly expanding solar and wind energy across Virginia, in partnership with zero-carbon nuclear and low-carbon natural gas.”