Dominion Energy announced Wednesday that construction officially started at its planned 2.6-gigawatt Virginia Beach offshore wind farm.
The electric company said the Orion heavy lift vessel installed the first wind turbine foundation, a steel tube called a monopile, about 29 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. The Orion departed Portsmouth Marine Terminal with the first batch of monopiles last week.
“This is a monumental day for the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind team, who have worked tirelessly to keep this project on budget and on schedule to provide our customers with reliable, affordable and increasingly clean energy,” Robert M. Blue, Dominion Energy’s chair, president and CEO, said in the announcement.
The planned 176-turbine, $9.8 billion project is expected to provide enough energy to power up to 660,000 homes once completed by the end of 2026.
The milestone comes as several anti-offshore wind groups attempt to stop installation with a federal lawsuit arguing the project endangers the North Atlantic right whale. A preliminary injunction request is pending. Dominion plans to pause monopile construction during the whale migration season from Nov. 1 to April 30.
Trevor Metcalfe, 757-222-5345, trevor.metcalfe@pilotonline.com
