July 11, 2019 — In about a year, Dominion Power will begin operating the first offshore wind turbines to be built in federal waters anywhere in the U.S.
Each capable of producing 6 megawatts, the two turbines will stand 600 feet above the ocean surface. The electricity they produce will be fed through an underwater cable to a substation being built in Virginia Beach. From there, it is directed to homes and businesses.
The project is a bold experiment that represents the future of clean energy here in Virginia, even if the turbines standing 27 miles offshore will remain out of sight and likely out of mind for most of us.
Gov. Ralph Northam joined Dominion representatives on July 1 to announce the start of construction on the substation. Work on the turbines is scheduled to begin early next year.
With this project, Virginia joins several other states along the Eastern seaboard that are exploring offshore wind projects.
Five wind turbines are already up and running in Rhode Island’s state waters. Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Delaware and Connecticut also are in the early stages of similar projects.
The turbines are a test of sorts, and Dominion may choose to build more if the results are positive. The utility leases 112,800 acres from the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, enough space to host nearly 170 turbines with the capacity to produce as much as 2,000 megawatts.