The first monopile foundations have arrived at the Port of Virginia for Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project in the US.
In September, the first eight monopile foundations, which are single vertical, steel cylinder, set sail from EEW SPC’s factory in Rostock, Germany, to the Portsmouth Marine Terminal in the US.
The German company will supply the project with 176 units in total that are up to 83 metres long, weigh 1,538 tonnes, and have a diameter of up to 9.5 metres.
“The delivery of the first foundations is further evidence that our Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project continues to move forward on time and on budget to provide reliable, affordable and increasingly clean energy to our customers,” said Bob Blue , Dominion Energy’s chair, president and chief executive officer.
As reported, Dominion Energy selected a consortium of DEME and Prysmian as the Balance of Plant (BoP) contractors in charge of the transportation and installation of the foundations and the substations, and the engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) services for the inter-array and export cables for what will be the largest commercial offshore wind farm in the United States.
Dominion Energy is proposing to install 176 Siemens Gamesa 14 MW wind turbines and three offshore substations in a 112,800-acre commercial lease area located 27 miles (about 43 kilometres) off the Virginia Beach coast.
In its press release from 5 September, Dominion Energy also revealed plans to bring in a noncontrolling equity financing partner on the 2.6 GW offshore wind project, which would de-risk the project and is part of additional capital sourcing, on top of the sale of its natural gas distribution companies, within the company’s ongoing business review.
Once fully constructed in 2026, the 2.6 GW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project will be able to generate enough electricity to power up to 660,000 households.
NOTE: The original article has been amended. Pictures and a quote from Bob Blue have been added.