Dominion Energy upped the ante in US offshore wind by unveiling plans for a 2.6GW project off Virginia that would be the nation’s largest.
The proposal – which comes just days after the state unveiled a 2.5GW offshore ambition – would see the utility deploy turbines in 113,000 acres off the state leased from the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM).
Dominion said it has filed an application with regional grid coordinator PJM to connect the turbines, with an envisaged phased start of operations between 2024 and 2026.
Dominion is already advancing a two-turbine, 12MW pilot wind farm off Virginia.
The power group’s vice president of generation construction, Mark Mitchell, said: "Offshore wind is an excellent renewable energy source and this filing with PJM shows how serious we are about bringing commercial-scale offshore wind to Virginia, giving our customers what they have asked for – more renewable energy.”
The 2.6GW scale of the plan marks a step-change for US offshore wind. The nation’s first commercial-scale project, Vineyard Wind – which is subject to delays – weighs in at 800MW while the largest single project announced so far is the Orsted-led 1.1GW Ocean Wind off New Jersey.
The announcement capped a significant day for US offshore wind that also saw Orsted line up the 12MW Haliade-X turbine from GE for Ocean wind and another project, marking the first commercial deals for the world’s largest wind turbine.
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