Offshore Wind Coming Along Nicely

Virginia’s Dominion Energy has filed construction and operations plans to build a 2.64 GW offshore wind project, located 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach, to be completed in 2026.

The project will make use of Dominion’s 12 MW turbines, far larger than what we find implemented in onshore wind farms.  That’s due to the expense dynamics associated with installing these devices; since the cost of anchoring offshore turbines is much higher than that of terrestrial wind plants, deploying huge machines is required to justify the expenditure.

It’s always great to see traditional utilities moving the ball forward, though it’s not like they have a choice.  Virginia’s Clean Economy Act requires Dominion to be 100 percent carbon-free by 2045.