Final Federal Approvals for Dominion Energy's Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Represent Another Major Milestone Towards Successful Project Completion

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Jan 30, 2024, 09:00 ET

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management provides final approval of Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind's (CVOW) Construction and Operations Plan
Army Corps of Engineers issues permit to ramp up onshore construction activities
CVOW remains on budget and on schedule to begin offshore construction in the second quarter of this year

RICHMOND, Va., Jan. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Dominion Energy announced today it has received the last two major federal approvals needed to begin construction of its 2.6-gigawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW), keeping the largest offshore wind farm in the United States on schedule to generate enough clean, renewable energy to power up to 660,000 homes once fully constructed in late 2026.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) provided its final approval of CVOW's Construction and Operations Plan (COP), which authorizes construction offshore. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued its permit to allow for permitted impacts to U.S. waters, including the route of the electric transmission line that will connect the clean, renewable energy generated offshore to the electric grid onshore.

"Virginia is leading the way for offshore wind as we near the start of offshore construction for Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind," said Bob Blue, Dominion Energy's chair, president, and chief executive officer. "These regulatory approvals keep CVOW on time and on budget as we focus on our mission of providing customers with reliable, affordable and increasingly clean energy."

Offshore wind's economic development and jobs benefits are transformative for Hampton Roads and the Commonwealth. More than 750 Virginia-based workers – nearly 530 in the Hampton Roads region – have been engaged on the CVOW project or with other businesses supporting CVOW. This work includes redevelopment activities at the Portsmouth Marine Terminal, construction of the offshore wind Monitoring and Coordination Center, maritime provisioning, ship upkeep, heavy lift and rigging, cyber security, food service and hospitality. More than 1,000 local jobs will be needed to support ongoing operations and maintenance of this facility after the project begins commercial operation.

"In an important step forward, we are thrilled to see the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project receive two major approvals that will place the nation's largest offshore wind farm right off the coast of Virginia," Senator Mark Warner, Senator Tim Kaine and Representative Bobby Scott said in a joint statement. "The progress on this project to date speaks volumes about the level of cooperation between the Biden administration, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and Dominion Energy, and their commitment to the future of green energy in the Commonwealth. We look forward to continuing to work together to see this project through to the finish line."

CVOW will consist of 176 turbines and three offshore substations in a nearly 113,000-acre lease area off the coast of Virginia Beach. Some onshore construction activities began in November 2023 following BOEM's favorable Record of Decision and will quickly ramp up with these last approvals. In addition, initial offshore construction activities related to the export cable and the monopile foundation installation is expected to begin in the second quarter of this year.

About Dominion Energy

About 7 million customers in 15 states energize their homes and businesses with electricity or natural gas from Dominion Energy (NYSE: D), headquartered in Richmond, Va. The company is committed to providing reliable, affordable, and increasingly clean energy every day and to achieving Net Zero emissions by 2050. Please visit DominionEnergy.com to learn more.

SOURCE Dominion Energy