Virginia has several advantages for the development of offshore wind projects. These include the availability of 18 miles of open sea with no overhead obstructions, central location to demand centres, stellar workforce, strong terminal infrastructure and robust intermodal connections and the largest marine industrial centre in the country. To take advantage of these, the 12 MW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project, located about 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach, was announced in 2017. Recently, in June 2020, the project reached a major milestone with the installation of turbines in the federal waters. It is expected to be commissioned by the end of 2020.
Jennifer K. Palestrant, Chief Deputy, Commonwealth of Virginia-Department of Mines, Minerals & Energy, discussed the status of offshore wind development in Virginia at Global Transmission’s virtual conference on Offshore Wind Transmission, US, which was organised on September 23-24, 2020. As per the 2020 Virginia Clean Economy Act, the mandatory renewable portfolio standard (RPS) for Virginia is set at 40 per cent by 2030 and 100 per cent by 2045 while the mandatory energy efficiency resource standard (EERS) is set at 5 per cent by 2025. Check out the full presentation to know more about the state’s offshore wind energy plans and initiatives to develop the supporting transmission infrastructure.
