Biden Administration Gives Green Light to Largest US Offshore Wind Farm

The Biden Administration has given its approval for Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project, marking the U.S. largest offshore wind project to receive federal approval to date.

CVOW also marks the fifth approval of a commercial-scale, offshore wind energy project under President Biden as the administration seeks to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030.

The approval follows the green light given to the Vineyard Wind 1, South Fork Wind, Ocean Wind 1, and Revolution Wind projects. Together, these five projects will contribute over 5 gigawatts of clean and renewable energy to the national grid, providing power to more than 1.75 million homes.

Situated approximately 23.5 nautical miles off the coast of Virginia Beach, the CVOW commercial project stands as the largest offshore wind project to date. The project will include the installation of up to 176 wind turbine generators, each with a capacity of 14.7 megawatts. With a capacity of around 2,600 megawatts, it will generate enough electricity to power over 900,000 homes.

The construction phase of the project is expected to create around 900 jobs annually, while the operations phase will support an estimated 1,100 jobs each year in the Virginia’s Hampton Roads area.

“Today’s announcement is the result of hard work by the BOEM team and our ongoing conversations with Tribes, federal agency partners, state and local leaders, ocean users, industry and others to help inform the development of this project every step of the way,” said Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Elizabeth Klein. “We look forward to continuing to work together to responsibly develop this clean energy resource and ensure a sustainable future for generations to come.”

The announcement comes shortly after a recent event in Portsmouth, Virginia, celebrating the arrival of the first eight monopile foundations for the CVOW project.

Under the Biden Administration, BOEM has conducted four offshore wind lease auctions, which have generated almost $5.5 billion in high bids. The auctions included the record-breaking sale offshore New York and the first-ever sales offshore the Pacific and Gulf Coasts. Meanwhile, the Department of the Interior has taken steps to explore additional opportunities for offshore wind energy development in areas such as the Gulf of Maine, offshore Oregon, and the U.S. Central Atlantic coast.

With this latest milestone, the BOEM remains on track to review at least 16 offshore wind energy project plans by 2025, representing a clean energy capacity of more than 27 gigawatts.

The Record of Decision includes measures that focus on avoiding, minimizing, and mitigating potential impacts during the construction and operation of the project. Dominion Energy, the project developer, has committed to establishing fishery mitigation funds to compensate recreational and commercial fisheries for any losses directly associated with the project. Additionally, measures such as vessel speed restrictions and construction clearance zones have been implemented to reduce the potential for impacts on protected species like marine mammals, sea turtles, and Atlantic sturgeon.

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