PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Some of the first steps in completing the the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project have begun with the monopile foundations arriving at the Portsmouth Marine Terminal on Friday.
CVOW is the largest offshore wind project under development in the United States. Along with providing over 750 jobs for Virginians while being constructed and more than 1,000 jobs once complete, the facility is expected to produce enough carbon-free electricity for over half a million Virginia homes and generate fuel savings of $3 billion for customers during the project's first 10 years, according to Dominion Energy.
On Friday, the first eight monopile foundations were safely offloaded at Portsmouth Marine Terminal, where they will be staged until the beginning of installation in the spring of 2024.
The huge foundations, which are a single vertical, steel cylinder, are being manufactured by EEW Special Pipe Constructions, a German company, and will be installed into the sea floor to support the wind turbine generators.
The offloading of the foundations was supported by union workers from the International Longshoremen’s Association, the largest union of maritime workers in North America.
“The delivery of the first foundations is further evidence that our Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project continues to move forward on time and on budget to provide reliable, affordable and increasingly clean energy to our customers,” said Bob Blue, Dominion Energy’s chair, president and chief executive officer.
“This regulated offshore wind project positions us, and the Commonwealth of Virginia, as leaders in the development of offshore wind and provides many benefits for our customers and local economies.”