Dominion submitted its Facility Design Report (FDR) and Fabrication and Installation Report (FIR) in partnership with offshore wind developer Ørsted, which is contracted for CVOW, and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, the company manufacturing the two 6-MW wind turbines to be installed next year 27 miles off the Virginia Beach coast. BOEM has reviewed and responded to the two filings with a no objection determination, a significant milestone for the project.
The FDR details the design of all the major components of the offshore wind project, while the FIR describes the fabrication and installation plans of the equipment. The decision from BOEM is a necessary approval to move forward with offshore construction, which is on track for the summer of 2020.
“This is a significant milestone as we move forward on building the first-ever fully permitted offshore wind project in federal waters” said Mark D. Mitchell, Dominion Energy’s vice president of generation construction. “This process will provide key learnings we can apply to our commercial-scale offshore wind project.”
Thomas Brostrøm, CEO of Ørsted US Offshore Wind, added that the FDR/FIR no objection determination is the latest milestone in a list of firsts for the burgeoning offshore wind industry in the US to come through the CVOW project and that as the only fully permitted project in US federal waters, CVOW continues to provide all involved parties valuable experience that will drive regulatory efficiencies and increased certainty that will reduce costs for future projects in the country.
L.E. Myers Company began onshore construction in June to facilitate interconnection of the two 6-MWwind turbines at a company substation near Camp Pendleton. At peak production, CVOW will power 3,000 homes. The turbines will not be visible from shore.
CVOW was first announced two years ago and received approval last November from the Virginia State Corporation Commission. The construction process is on a strict timetable, in order to minimize environmental impacts to the sea bottom and aquatic life. Observers will be present during the offshore construction activities to look for protected species in the area. If those species are located within an exclusion zone, work will be stopped.
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