VIRGINIA BEACH,
Va., July 1, 2019
/PRNewswire/ -- Dominion Energy is formally beginning
construction on the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project,
which will bring an important new source of renewable energy to
Virginia customers. The company is
breaking ground to install a half-mile conduit, which will hold the
final stretch of cables connecting the turbines 27 miles off the
coast of Virginia Beach to a
company substation near Camp Pendleton. Governor Ralph Northam, other elected officials,
stakeholders and media were invited to the groundbreaking on
July 1, to mark the beginning of
onshore construction activities for the CVOW project.
This activity marks the first work at the project site to
facilitate interconnection of the two 6-megawatt wind turbines
which will power 3,000 homes at peak. Wind is part of a broader
effort to deliver renewable energy, including solar, as we honor
our commitment to reduce carbon emissions. Commercial scale
offshore wind development would have the potential to power 500,000
homes with more than 2,000 MW of zero-carbon, renewable energy.
Dominion Energy anticipates $1.1
billion in offshore wind investments through
2023.
"These onshore construction activities are another major
milestone in our plan to bring offshore wind to the Commonwealth
and are a sign of our commitment to bring more renewable energy to
our customers," said Dominion Energy Chairman, President and CEO
Thomas F. Farrell,
II.
"The Virginia offshore
wind demonstration project is another powerful example of the
Commonwealth's position as a leader in renewable energy," said Gov.
Northam. "As the first deployment of commercial-scale offshore wind
turbines in federal waters, I am thrilled that Virginia's project will help determine best
practices for future offshore wind construction along the East
Coast."
The project was announced two years ago and is the only
fully permitted offshore wind project in US federal waters. Last
November, the State Corporation Commission approved the project and
the majority of required permits and approvals have been received.
The construction process is on a strict timetable, in order to
minimize environmental impacts to the sea bottom and aquatic life.
Observers will be present during the offshore construction
activities to look for protected species in the area. If protected
species are located within an exclusion zone, work will be
stopped.
While onshore construction is underway, residents and
visitors may notice a barge performing construction activities
approximately half a mile off the Virginia Beach coast from July through
September 2019. The turbines will not
be noticeable from shore once construction is completed in
2020.
Ørsted, an experienced offshore wind developer
headquartered in Denmark, has been
contracted for the offshore portion of the project. The L. E. Myers
Company will perform onshore construction work. Customers will see
no increase in rates for the pilot project under the provisions of
the Grid Transformation and Security Act of 2018, as the project
will be recovered in existing base rates rather than a rider. The
CVOW project is on-schedule and on-budget.
About Dominion Energy
Nearly 7.5
million customers in 18 states energize their homes and businesses
with electricity or natural gas from Dominion Energy (NYSE: D),
headquartered in Richmond, Va. The company is committed
to sustainable, reliable, affordable and safe energy and is one of
the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy with
about $100 billion of assets providing electric
generation, transmission and distribution, as well as natural gas
storage, transmission, distribution and import/export services. The
company expects to cut generating fleet carbon dioxide emissions 80
percent by 2050 and reduce methane emissions from its gas assets 50
percent by 2030. Please visit www.DominionEnergy.com to
learn more.
View original content to download
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/construction-begins-on-dominion-energy-offshore-wind-project-300878626.html
SOURCE Dominion Energy