The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) is an offshore wind energy project located about 43 km (27 mi) off the coast of Virginia Beach, Virginia, U.S. The initial phase, a two-turbine, 12-MW pilot project constructed in 2020, is the second utility scale offshore wind farm operating in the United States (after Block Island Wind Farm). Dominion Energy and Ørsted US Offshore Wind collaborated on the project, which is estimated to have cost $300 million and is expected to generate enough electricity to power up to 3,000 homes. It is the first utility scale wind farm serving Virginia and the first built in U.S. federal waters, in a wind lease area that covers about 2,135 acres (3.3 sq mi).[3]
| Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Country | United States |
| Location | OCS-A 0497[1] Outer Continental Shelf Offshore Virginia |
| Coordinates | 36°53′30″N 75°29′30″W / 36.89167°N 75.49167°W |
| Status | pilot |
| Owner | Dominion Energy |
| Wind farm | |
| Type | offshore |
| Distance from shore | 27 miles (43 km) |
| Power generation | |
| Make and model | Siemens Gamesa SWT-6.0-154 |
| Nameplate capacity | 12 MW[2] |
| External links | |
| Website | Dominion CVOW |
| Commons | Related media on Commons |
Pilot project
editThe Virginia Offshore Wind Technology Advancement Project (VOWTAP) was a program to explore offshore wind farms in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Virginia.[4][5] Dominion Virginia Power was awarded $4 million in 2012 and $47 million in 2014 from the United States Department of Energy (DOE) to help fund the construction of a 12-megawatt demonstration project, consisting of two 6-megawatt offshore wind turbines.[6][7][8] It intended to have them in full operation in 2017, but the project was withdrawn from the DOE project since the single bid for construction was too high and other funding requirements were not met.[9] Some exploratory boring off the coast had taken place.[10]
The eventual pilot project was built by Ørsted US Offshore Wind for Dominion Energy to explore potential for expansion of a wind farm off the coast with a potential of up to 2,000 MW.[3][11][12] Construction began in May 2020.[13] Bluewater Wind handled port logistics for the project.[14][15] Power from the turbines, built by Siemens Gamesa, is cabled to a substation near Camp Pendleton.[3] Seaway 7 supplied, installed, buried and tested the offshore power cables.[16]
| Wind farm | Offshore BOEM wind energy lease area | States | Coordinates | Capacity (MW) |
Completion year |
Turbines | Developer/Utility | Regulatory agency | Refs | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind - Pilot Project | Offshore Virginia OCS-A 0497[1] |
25 nautical miles east of Cape Henry (VA) | 2,135 acres (864 ha) | VA | 36°53′30″N 75°29′30″W / 36.89167°N 75.49167°W | 12 | 2020 | 2 x 6MW Siemens Gamesa SWT-6.0-154 |
Ørsted Dominion Energy |
Virginia Department of Mines Minerals and Energy (DMME) BOEM |
[3] |
Proposed project
edit| Wind farm | Offshore BOEM wind energy lease area | States | Coordinates | Capacity (MW) |
Completion year | Turbines | Developer/Utility | Regulatory agency | Refs | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind | Offshore Virginia OCS-A 0483[17] |
25 to 35 nautical miles east of Cape Henry (VA) | 112,799 acres (45,648 ha) | VA | 36°54′N 75°23′W / 36.9°N 75.38°W | 2,640 | 2026 | TBA | Dominion Energy | BOEM | [18] |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project (CVOW) | Bureau of Ocean Energy Management". www.boem.gov.
- ^ "Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind - CVOW - Fully Commissioned Offshore Wind Farm - United States; 4C Offshore". www.4coffshore.com.
- ^ a b c d "Virginia's Offshore Wind Turbines Now Generating Power". Offshore Wind. September 29, 2020.
- ^ "EA-1985: Virginia Offshore Wind Technology Advancement Project (VOWTAP), 24 nautical miles offshore of Virginia Beach, Virginia". Energy.gov.
- ^ "Virginia Offshore Wind Technology Advancement Project". dom.com. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
- ^ "Dominion Awarded $47 Million by DOE for Offshore Wind Turbine Demonstration Project". mediaroom.com. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
- ^ Davidson, Ros. "VOWTAP shelved 'indefinitely'". www.windpowermonthly.com.
- ^ "Dominion Virginia to be first U.S. utility in offshore wind". Utility Dive. May 14, 2014.
- ^ "USA: 12MW VOWTAP to be delayed". windpowerintelligence.com. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
- ^ "Dominion Virginia Power starting test borings for offshore wind energy project". Richmond.com.
- ^ Geuss, Megan (July 13, 2017). "Virginia utility agrees to install two offshore wind turbines for study". Ars Technica. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
- ^ Vogelsong, Sarah. "Virginia's first offshore wind project gets underway". Retrieved April 20, 2020.
- ^ "'Hats off to the team': steel in water at first US federal water wind farm | Recharge". Recharge news. May 28, 2020. Archived from the original on June 7, 2020.
- ^ "Blue Water Handles Offshore Wind Turbines for Siemens Gamesa". June 11, 2020.
- ^ "Blue Water wins four projects".
- ^ "Milestone Coastal Wind Project for Seaway Offshore Cables". subsea7 Corporate2018. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
- ^ "Commercial Lease for Wind Energy Offshore Virginia | Bureau of Ocean Energy Management". www.boem.gov.
- ^ "Dominion Energy | Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind". coastalvawind.com.