CVOW Offshore Wind Farm Nears Finish in Virginia Beach

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Dominion Energy's Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project, located 27 miles off Virginia Beach, has begun delivering power to the grid from its first operational turbine, a Siemens Gamesa model generating up to 14.7 megawatts. The 2.6-gigawatt commercial-scale farm, now about 50% complete, remains on track for completion in late 2026 despite past delays from a Trump administration stop-work order. Dominion Chair, President and CEO Bob Blue stated during a February earnings call that further disruptions "don't make sense," emphasizing the project's role in powering Virginia's AI data centers and Navy shipbuilding.

Construction milestones underscore the project's momentum: 16 transition pieces — junctions between turbine foundations and towers for the planned 176 turbines — have been installed, and the first of three 4,300-ton offshore substations arrived at Portsmouth Marine Terminal in Virginia Beach in late January. The American-built Charybdis wind turbine installation vessel, 96% complete as of recent updates, began sea trials in Brownsville, Texas. Siemens Gamesa is fabricating towers, blades and nacelles using the same model proven at Scotland's Moray West project. The effort has generated 2,000 direct and indirect jobs and $2 billion in economic activity, with onshore and offshore work ramping up.

Building on a 12-megawatt pilot operational since October 2020 — the first offshore wind farm in U.S. federal waters — CVOW-C will produce up to 9.5 million megawatt-hours annually, avoiding 5 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions yearly, equivalent to planting 80 million trees. A U.S. District Court preliminary injunction ensured work resumption after regulatory pauses. Partner Stonepeak is funding half of a $900 million cost increase, with Dominion absorbing unrecoverable portions via a $100 million Q4 2024 charge excluded from operating earnings. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management approved the plan in a joint Record of Decision with the National Marine Fisheries Service on Oct. 30, 2023.

For Virginia Beach residents and Dominion's 660,000 customers, CVOW advances net-zero emissions goals by 2050 while supporting 1,100 ongoing jobs. As turbines progressively connect — with more power flowing as installations continue — the project positions Virginia as a clean energy leader on the Atlantic Coast.