WASHINGTON — Dominion Energy is moving forward with what will be one of the first offshore wind projects in the U.S., and has signed a strategic partnership with DONG Energy of Denmark.
The first phase of the project will include the construction of two six-megawatt turbines 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Dominion Energy will be the sole owner. DONG and Dominion are aiming for a 2020 completion date for phase one.
There is currently only one large-scale offshore wind farm, off the coast of Rhode Island and privately owned by Deepwater Wind.
Others are planned off the coasts of Massachusetts, New York and Maryland.
“While we have faced many technological challenges and even more doubters as we advanced this project, we have been steadfast in our commitment to our customers and the communities we serve,” said Dominion Energy CEO Thomas Farrell.
DONG Energy owns 22 offshore wind farms in Europe and Asia.
This first phase is called the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project. Dominion eventually plans to build out a large-scale wind farm on 113,000 offshore acres it is leasing from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to generate up to 2,000 megawatts of energy — enough to power a half-million homes.
