Dominion begins work on America's 2nd offshore wind project

US utility Dominion Energy Inc (NYSE:D) held a groundbreaking ceremony on Monday as it began construction work on a 12-MW offshore wind demonstrator off the coast of Virginia in partnership with Denmark’s Ørsted A/S (CPH:ORSTED).

The company broke ground to install a half-mile conduit to hold the final stretch of cables connecting the two 6-MW turbines as part of the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project to a company substation near Camp Pendleton. The onshore construction is being carried out by The L E Myers Company, while Ørsted is in charge of offshore work.

This is the country's second offshore wind park. The first one is the 30-MW Block Island plant off Rhode Island that entered into service in December 2016.

The two Siemens Gamesa turbines as part of CVOW will be installed about 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach and, Dominion Energy says, will not be noticeable from shore once construction is finished next year. Upon completion, the wind park will be able to produce enough power to supply some 3,000 homes at peak and the company assures that customers will see no increase in rates for the pilot project.

The US utility noted it plans to invest about USD 1.1 billion (EUR 974m) in offshore wind through 2023.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.886)

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