Friday 20 September 2019

Dominion Energy proposes to build largest offshore wind farm in the US

Dominion Energy has proposed to build the largest offshore wind farm in the US, with 2.6GW of total capacity.

The facility, which it plans to install off the coast of Virginia by 2026, would be made up of 220 turbines able to power as many as 650,000 homes.

The large-scale renewable facility would support the firm's commitment to reduce carbon emissions by 55% by 2030, with the first phase of the project producing clean electricity by as early as 2024.

Dominion Energy has filed an application with transmission coordinator PJM, which operates across 13 states and the District of Columbia, to interconnect the proposed turbines to the transmission grid - if this is approved, ocean survey work could begin in 2020, with a Construction and Operations Plan to be submitted in 2022.

Mark D. Mitchell, Vice President of Generation Construction, said: "Offshore wind is an excellent renewable energy source and this filing with PJM shows how serious we are about bringing commercial-scale offshore wind to Virginia, giving our customers what they have asked for – more renewable energy.

"Governor Ralph Northam has made it clear Virginia is committed to leading the way in offshore wind. We are rising to this challenge with this 2,600-megawatt commercial offshore wind development."