Siemens Energy Gear for Largest US Offshore Wind Farm

Siemens Energy will supply the main electrical equipment for the grid connection of Dominion Energy’s 2.6 GW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project in US federal waters.

The wind farm will include up to 180 Siemens Gamesa’s SG 14-222 Direct Drive turbines standing slightly more than 800 feet tall and is the largest offshore wind project under development in the US.

Siemens Energy will deliver the high-voltage electrical equipment for the three offshore platforms that will collect the low voltage energy generated by the wind turbines and transmit it at a higher voltage to shore.

The company will deliver for each of the three 800 MW offshore platforms: three power transformers, three shunt reactors, one medium-voltage gas-insulated switchgear (GIS), and three high-voltage GIS systems to Semco Maritime, which among other things is responsible for design, procurement and installation of the electrical equipment.

The system solution is said to be specifically designed to significantly reduce both the size and weight of the platform, lowering the need for the use of steel in the construction and thus making the platform more resource- and cost-effective.

Once fully commissioned in 2026, the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind will prevent up to five million tons of CO2 emissions annually and supply up to 660,000 households in Virginia, Siemens Energy said.

The project is located 27 miles off the shores of Virginia Beach.