One quarter of the 176 wind turbines that will spin at the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) site have been installed, with the installation of the 45th turbine underway.
This is according to an update shared by Dominion Energy in its Q3 2026 results on 30 October, when the company also said CVOW’s levelized cost of energy (LCoE) dropped from USD 83/MWh (around EUR 74.10/MWh) reported in the prior update to USD 62/MWh (around EUR 55.40/MWh) because higher Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) revenues offset a flat gross generation cost of USD 100/MWh (around EUR 89.30/MWh).
The first of CVOW’s 176 Siemens Gamesa 14 MW wind turbines was installed in January 2026, and the project delivered first power to the grid in March 2026, with each completed turbine becoming operational as installation progresses.
The wind turbines are being installed by Charybdis, the first Jones Act-compliant wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV), commissioned by Dominion Energy and built at Seatrium’s AmFELS shipyard in Brownsville, Texas.
Earlier this year, Dominion revised the completion timeline for its 2.6 GW offshore wind project, according to which the installation of the 176th and final wind turbine is expected by the end of next year. The company had previously targeted full project completion in early 2027.
Dominion said the updated schedule reflected additional contingency for weather, vessel maintenance, loadout operations and extended jacking activities, rather than changes to the base turbine installation rate, which had been two days per turbine, excluding load-out and transit, weather, and maintenance.
According to Dominion’s update on 30 October, the installation rate has remained the same so far, and the company still expects the 176th turbine to be installed at the end of 2027.
The first two offshore substations are already commissioned, and the third and final substation is expected to be energised by the end of 2026.
Once fully commissioned, the 2.6 GW CVOW will become the biggest US offshore wind farm and, with an installed capacity of 2.6 GW, one of the biggest in the world today.
