Dominion Energy announced Wednesday that construction officially started on the planned 2.6 gigawatt Virginia Beach offshore wind farm.
The electric utility said the heavy freighter Orion has installed the first wind turbine foundation, a steel tube called a monopile, about 47 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. The Orion left Portsmouth Marine Terminal last week with the first batch of monopiles.
“This is a monumental day for the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind team, who have worked tirelessly to keep this project on budget and on schedule to provide our customers with reliable, affordable and increasingly clean energy,” Robert M. Blue, Dominion Energy chairman, president and CEO, the announcement said.
The planned $9.8 billion, 176-turbine project is expected to provide enough energy to power up to 660,000 homes once completed in late 2026.
The milestone comes as several anti-offshore wind groups try to halt the installation with a federal lawsuit arguing the project endangers the North Atlantic right whale. A request for an interim injunction is pending. Dominion plans to pause monopile construction during the whale migration season from November 1 to April 30.
Trevor Metcalfe, 757-222-5345, trevor.metcalfe@pilotonline.com
