RICHMOND, Va., July 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Dominion Energy
announced today that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)
will publish in the Federal Register on Friday the Notice of Intent
(NOI) for the proposed 2.6-gigawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind
(CVOW) commercial project, the largest planned offshore wind farm
in the United States.
The issuance of a NOI begins BOEM's and other federal agencies'
review of the project and the preparation of an Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS), which will take about two years, and opens
a 30-day public comment period during which time federal agencies
will conduct scoping meetings and accept comments to inform the
preparation of the EIS.
"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," said Robert M. Blue, Dominion Energy's chair,
president and chief executive officer. "We look forward to
continuing to work with our federal regulators and the public as we
move forward with the environmental review process."
"Virginia is all in on offshore
wind. We are developing the infrastructure, workforce, supply
chain, and manufacturing capabilities needed to capture the many
benefits of this emerging industry," said Governor
Ralph Northam. "This announcement
puts our Commonwealth on a path to harnessing the power of wind to
produce affordable and reliable renewable energy, create thousands
of new jobs, and meet our ambitious climate goals. We are grateful
for the federal government's partnership as we work to advance our
clean energy future with this large-scale commercial wind project
along Virginia's coast."
"Today's announcement marks another critical milestone in the
development of Virginia's
commercial offshore wind project," said U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA). "With the issuance of the
Notice of Intent, we are one step closer to bringing this
2.6-gigawatt commercial offshore wind project online that will
deliver clean, renewable energy to hundreds of thousands of
Virginians and create thousands of good-paying jobs."
"I'm thrilled to see this project underway as it's an exciting
step toward a clean energy economy that creates good jobs in the
Commonwealth," said U.S. Senator Tim
Kaine (D-VA). "I will keep pushing for clean energy
investments in Virginia to boost
our economy and build a more sustainable future."
Dominion Energy filed in December
2020 its Construction and Operations Plan (COP) to build the
CVOW commercial project in a 112,800-acre commercial lease area
that begins 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach and extends an additional 15
miles East in the Atlantic Ocean. The plan calls for 2,640
megawatts of clean, renewable energy to be installed, which will
generate enough renewable energy to power up to 660,000 Dominion
Energy Virginia customers' homes at peak output. BOEM's issuance of
the NOI reflects its determination that the COP is complete and
ready for the public review process.
Offshore wind generation is a major component of Dominion
Energy's comprehensive clean energy strategy to meet standards
mandated in the Virginia Clean Economy Act and to achieve the
company's net zero carbon dioxide and methane emissions commitment
by 2050.
Dominion Energy expects to file with the Virginia State
Corporation Commission later this year, seeking regulatory approval
for the commercial project. This follows the successful completion
of the two-turbine, 12-megawatt CVOW pilot wind farm located
adjacent to the commercial development, which was the first project
to be fully permitted through the BOEM review process and became
operational in October 2020.
According to an economic impact study performed by Glen
Allen-based Mangum Economics and commissioned and published by the
Hampton Roads Alliance, it is estimated that the CVOW commercial
project could create approximately 900 jobs and $143
million in economic impact annually during construction and
1,100 jobs and almost $210 million in economic impact
annually during operation of the turbines.
Similarly, during construction, the CVOW commercial project is
estimated to generate nearly $5 million per year in local
and state tax revenue which increases to
almost $11 million annually once the project is
commissioned and operational.
About Dominion Energy
More than 7 million customers in
16 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 to achieving net zero
carbon dioxide and methane emissions from its power generation and
gas infrastructure operations by 2050. Please visit
DominionEnergy.com to learn more.
This news release includes certain "forward-looking
information." Examples include information as to expectations,
beliefs, plans, goals, objectives and future financial or other
performance or assumptions concerning matters discussed in this
release. Our business is influenced by many factors that are
difficult to predict, involve uncertainties that may materially
affect actual results and are often beyond our ability to control
or estimate precisely. We have identified and will in the
future identify in our SEC Reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q a number
of factors that could cause actual results to differ from those in
the forward-looking statements. We refer you to those discussions
for further information. Any forward-looking statement speaks
only as of the date on which it is made, and we undertake no
obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect
events or circumstances after the date on which it is made.
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SOURCE Dominion Energy