Virginia state regulators have approved Dominion Energy’s request to build a 2.6-gigawatt wind farm off the coast of Virginia Beach, advancing what will soon be the biggest offshore wind farm in the country.
The $9.8 billion Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project will include a total of 176 wind turbines located roughly 30 miles off the coast, Dominion said in a statement.
Construction is slated for completion in 2026, at which point company officials said it will be capable of generating enough electricity to power up to 660,000 homes.
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While Dominion acknowledged that utility costs will rise slightly for customers, who will see their bills increase by a monthly average of $4.72 over the next 35 years, they also stressed that the benefits will far outweigh the costs.
“The project is expected to save Virginia customers more than $3 billion during its first 10 years in operation,” the company said in a statement. “However, if these ongoing commodity market pressure trends continue, those savings could total up to nearly $6 billion — almost double the savings.”
The project will be the largest wind farm in the United States, as well as the first utility-owned facility in the nation, according to the Sierra Club, which praised the project as representing a “number of firsts.”
It will also be the first project with diversity hiring requirements, the Sierra Club said, though details of that effort were not immediately clear.
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“Our customers expect reliable, affordable energy, and offshore wind is key for delivering on that mission,” Dominion Energy CEO Robert Blue said in a statement Friday. “We are very pleased that the commission has approved this important project that will benefit our customers.”
