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A VISION FOR VIRGINIA OFFSHORE WIND

Virginia’s leaders have an immediate opportunity to strengthen the Virginia economy for working families and create safer, healthier communities by tapping into our vast offshore wind resource. An investment in the offshore wind industry will pay off for Virginia’s economy by creating thousands of new jobs and securing access to clean, affordable electricity. Offshore wind energy also provides a massive opportunity to build a clean, renewable source of domestic energy that will help Virginia do its part to mitigate the worst effects of climate change and sea level rise.

Virginia trails behind other Atlantic states in planning for the development of offshore wind, which makes it late but not too late to take a leadership role, if we act now.

Tell Gov. Northam to make a master plan for offshore wind in Virginia!

The large wind energy area leased to Dominion Energy is capable of producing over 2,000 megawatts of electricity, enough to power over 500,000 homes and significantly reduce our dependence on dirty fuels. Just as massive as the potential to create clean energy is the potential to create well-paying careers in the offshore wind industry.

With strong leadership from the Governor and regional leaders, Virginia can make the vision for offshore wind a reality and spur Dominion to speed up its development of this abundant resource.

Click here to tell Gov. Northam: "Let's Make a Plan for Offshore Wind"!

BACKGROUND

After years of stakeholder meetings, Virginia’s federally-designated offshore Wind Energy Area (WEA) has been cleared of conflicts. The military, shipping and fishing industries, together with environmental scientists studying the area, all agree that this area is appropriate for development with proper safeguards for wildlife.  

In September 2013, the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) leased the development rights for Virginia’s WEA to Dominion Virginia Power. This 112,799-acre lease area, located about 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach, is capable of generating at least 2,000 megawatts (MW) of power - enough electricity to power over 500,000 homes. 

Dominion is required to submit a Construction and Operations Plan (COP) to BOEM by April 2022. But as other states have demonstrated, nothing prohibits Dominion from submitting the COP sooner than that deadline. Recent legislation put 5,000 MW of wind and solar in the public interest by 2028.  The bill also provides Dominion with a rate-basing incentive to commence construction on a minimum of 250 MW of offshore wind by 2023.  This 250 MW represents phase 1 towards the installation of the full 2,000 MW of offshore wind by 2028, as recommended in the Governor’s 2018 Virginia Energy Plan.

JOBS

Each wind turbine is made with over 8,000 parts, many of which can be manufactured in Virginia.  With its deep water port, world-class shipbuilding and maritime industries, and ready workforce, Virginia could become a major east coast hub for the offshore wind industry.  Researchers concluded that with full build-out of this industry, 14,000 jobs could be created in Virginia.  These are high-paying, local, career-length jobs that can’t be exported overseas.

WILDLIFE

Human-induced climate change is the single greatest threat to the world’s wildlife. Producing energy from offshore wind instead of fossil fuels is a vital part of our effort to decarbonize America’s energy supply. But wind turbines can have adverse impacts on some species, so it is critical that developers practice responsible siting and construction.

For Virginia, installing turbines 27 miles off the coast minimizes conflict with birds, as most migrate closer to the coast. Mitigation efforts can also include construction moratoriums imposed when the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale migrates through Virginia waters.

WIND VS GAS

Dominion’s IRP currently calls for increasing its natural gas electricity generation. This plan would put millions of dollars into power plants that will last for 25 years, use fracked gas for power, crowd out renewable energy, and expose treasured and vulnerable Virginia’s landscapes to dangerous pipelines and high-voltage power lines. Yet Dominion’s love affair with natural gas ignores the fact that gas prices are highly volatile, while the “fuel” for wind turbines (wind) is free.  It also ignores the fact that gas is still a carbon-emitting fuel.       

COST

Dominion contends that its current projected price of offshore wind means it should be delayed well into the future. This is short-sighted. Numerous factors lend to competitive pricing for offshore wind compared to Dominion’s business-as-usual carbon-polluting alternative.   

• Offshore wind generates power close to the coastal cities where demand is highest, saving billions of dollars on the costs of transmission and grid congestion. 
• Offshore wind is often load-following, blowing most strongly in the late afternoon when electricity demand peaks; this makes it an excellent complement to midday-peaking solar energy.
• With the crisis of climate change, the U.S. will inevitably institute a carbon tax on fossil fuel energy generation. When that happens, clean wind power will gain an economic advantage.
• The cost of offshore wind energy has fallen dramatically over its more than 20-year history in Europe, where it now competes with conventional sources. Continuing advancements in technology brings new cost declines every year.
• A domino effect will occur as states up and down the Atlantic erect wind turbines off their coasts.  Development currently underway off Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Delaware and Maryland will launch  manufacturing supply chain industries, leading to sharp cost declines as experienced in Europe.

COASTAL VIRGINIA OFFSHORE WIND (CVOW) PROJECT

In late 2016, America’s first offshore wind project began operation in Rhode Island state waters. America’s first wind project in federal waters could be off Virginia’s coast come 2020.

Dominion has partnered with Danish energy giant Ørsted on a 12 MW pilot offshore wind project adjacent to its commercial 2,000 MW area. The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project will test offshore wind technology and provide valuable lessons that will translate to cost-savings for the larger 2,000 MW project.