Dominion Energy and Siemens Gamesa announced plans Monday to construct a first-of-its-kind factory in Portsmouth, Virginia, to manufacture blades for offshore wind turbines.
Executives representing both the utility and the turbine manufacturer gathered Monday at the Portsmouth Marine Terminal to announce a $200 million investment for the blade-finishing facility, which will create 260 direct factory jobs.
The factory builds on Dominion’s initiative to create an offshore wind power hub off the Virginia coast, where the utility has already installed two 600-foot pilot turbines.
The company plans to build 180 turbines by 2026 as part of its Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, which would generate 2.6 gigawatts of electricity, or enough to power 660,000 homes.
DANISH COMPANY TO BUILD WORLD’S ‘TALLEST AND MOST POWERFUL’ WIND TURBINE
A Dominion executive said Monday he hopes coastal Virginia and the offshore wind industry become “synonymous” with the factory and wind project rollout, just as Pittsburgh became known for its steel industry and Silicon Valley became known for venture capital and technology.
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Once fully operational, the blade factory will have the capacity to support the construction of more than 100 turbines per year.
The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project is undergoing an environmental review, which is expected to be completed in 2023.
