By DAVE RESS
Dominion Energy has set down foundations for its two-unit offshore wind turbine project in deep waters, 27 miles off the Virginia Beach shore.
It marks a key step in its push into offshore wind power.
The electric company expects to erect the 600-foot-tall turbines themselves later this month. They’re slated to begin generating enough power for 3,000 homes by the end of the year.
The aim of Dominion’s now-22-month-old, $300 million pilot project is to set the stage for what’s likely to be a multi-billion-dollar push into large-scale wind-powered electric generation in the same waters.
Dominion’s contractors set down the first turbine foundation on the ocean floor, 80 feet below the surface, on May 25. They set down the second May 30.
The vessel that did the work is now on its way back to Nova Scotia to fetch the towers and turbine components. When it returns later this month, it will position itself next to the turbine foundations, let down long, strong steel legs to the ocean bottom, and jack up its hull and crane above the waves so it can safely erect the 40-story-tall wind turbines.
Eventually, Dominion would like to stage towers and components for the larger, 220-turbine wind farm it wants to build off the the Virginia Beach shore in Hampton Roads.
But a century-old law, the Jones Act, says carrying the turbine towers and parts from a U.S. port to any point on or in U.S. waters has to be done by a U.S.-flagged vessel. At the moment, there are none -- which is why Dominion turned the Vole-au-Vent, a vessel designed for erecting wind turbines that is registered in landlocked Luxembourg. The Vole-au-Vent’s Luxembourg red-white-and-blue horizontally-striped flag is why the two pilot project turbines are staged in Nova Scotia, 840 miles away.
Dominion is exploring options for a vessel that can could shuttle between a Hampton Roads staging area and the wind farm area, spokesman Jeremy Slayton said.
The company believes Hampton Roads’ port, with its deep shipping channels and experienced maritime workforce, makes it an ideal anchor for a U.S.-based supply chain for its offshore wind farm and ultimately to other U.S. offshore wind facilities.
“We are exploring our options to be Jones Act compliant on the commercial offshore wind project. A U.S.-based, Jones Act compliant installation vessel could be a solution,” Slayton said.
Dominion is betting big on offshore wind. Last year, it decided not to wait for operating results from the two-turbine pilot project before committing to erect the 220 turbines off Virginia Beach, beginning in 2024. They should generate enough electricity to power 650,000 homes when the wind is blowing steadily. The company says it would be the largest such operation in the United States.
The company’s latest long-term plan, filed with the State Corporation Commission last month, calls for even more offshore wind turbines -- double the 220-turbine plan. All in all, Dominion hopes to eventually generate 5,112 megawatts of electricity from offshore turbines, enough to power 1.3 million homes.
This spring, Dominion hired two vessels – the M/V Sarah Bordelon and M/V Marcelle Bordelon – to conduct studies in the 112,800-acre area where it will erect the 220 turbines. They’ll provide the company with the geological, biological, and oceanographic data needed for planning and construction of those generators.
While Dominion’s wind project will meet policy goals set out in the Virginia Clean Economy Act that the General Assembly enacted this year, the company still needs to win permits and regulatory approvals from the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Virginia State Corporation Commission.
Dominion is exploring options for a vessel that can could shuttle between a Hampton Roads staging area and the wind farm area, spokesman Jeremy Slayton said.
The company believes Hampton Roads’ port, with its deep shipping channels and experienced maritime workforce, makes it an ideal anchor for a U.S.-based supply chain for its offshore wind farm and ultimately to other U.S. offshore wind facilities.
“We are exploring our options to be Jones Act compliant on the commercial offshore wind project. A U.S.-based, Jones Act compliant installation vessel could be a solution,” Slayton said.
Dominion is betting big on offshore wind. Last year, it decided not to wait for operating results from the two-turbine pilot project before committing to erect the 220 turbines off Virginia Beach, beginning in 2024. They should generate enough electricity to power 650,000 homes when the wind is blowing steadily. The company says it would be the largest such operation in the United States.
The company’s latest long-term plan, filed with the State Corporation Commission last month, calls for even more offshore wind turbines -- double the 220-turbine plan. All in all, Dominion hopes to eventually generate 5,112 megawatts of electricity from offshore turbines, enough to power 1.3 million homes.
This spring, Dominion hired two vessels – the M/V Sarah Bordelon and M/V Marcelle Bordelon – to conduct studies in the 112,800-acre area where it will erect the 220 turbines. They’ll provide the company with the geological, biological, and oceanographic data needed for planning and construction of those generators.
While Dominion’s wind project will meet policy goals set out in the Virginia Clean Economy Act that the General Assembly enacted this year, the company still needs to win permits and regulatory approvals from the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Virginia State Corporation Commission.