US regulators have given Dominion Energy the green light to construct a 12MW pilot project 43km off the coast of Virginia, prompting Siemens Gamesa to begin manufacturing components for two, 6MW turbines due for installation next summer, a Dominion spokesman tells Recharge.

The move by President Donald Trump's administration will enable Dominion to have the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project in commercial operation by the end of 2020 – the emerging US industry’s first turbines in federal waters on the outer continental shelf.