Dominion Energy Says No Delay on Virginia’s 2.6 GW Offshore Wind Project, Orion Now Mobilising in Port of Norfolk

May 3, 2024, by Adrijana Buljan

Dominion Energy has issued a statement in response to claims that the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project was delayed saying the project was on schedule and that the installation vessel Orion would start construction between 6 and 8 May.

“On April 29, anti-wind groups filed a petition in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia seeking to delay CVOW construction using the same meritless arguments as have already been rejected before by the courts, including last week by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in relation to an offshore wind project in Massachusetts. Dominion Energy strongly believes that the project’s biological opinion is compliant with all legal requirements and expects to prevail against the request for a construction delay,” Dominion Energy said on 1 May.

The Virginia-headquartered energy company said the 2.6 GW CVOW offshore wind project remains on schedule and on budget consistent with previously disclosed timelines and costs, with the monopile installation work, to be performed by DEME’s vessel Orion, expected to commence between 6 and 8 May.

In a social media post shared on 2 May, the Belgian offshore construction company DEME said Orion was currently mobilising for CVOW in the Port of Norfolk, Virginia.

The DP3 heavy lift installation vessel left Scotland for the United States last month, after completing monopile installation on the Scottish 882 MW Moray West offshore wind farm.

“Leveraging proven technology, DEME will once again deploy ‘Orion’ with the Vibro Hammer and Impact Hammer to install CVOW’s XXL monopiles – the same equipment that delivered success at Moray West during harsh winter conditions. Our international project team and crew will include skilled American Pile Drivers, creating a robust and prepared team, ready to tackle this large-scale project,” DEME said.

In addition to Orion, which will install 176 monopiles at the CVOW project site located some 43 kilometres (27 miles) off the coast of Virginia, DEME will deploy several other vessels to undertake the scope of work for which the company was contracted in consortium with Prysmian in 2021. This includes the installation of 176 transition pieces, three offshore substations, and scour protection, as well as the supply and installation of both export and inter-array cables.

The 2.6 GW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind will have 176 Siemens Gamesa 14 MW wind turbines and will become the biggest US offshore wind farm once in operation.

The monopiles for the 2.6 GW CVOW offshore wind farm are being produced by EEW SPC, which sent the first batch from its factory in Rostock, Germany, to the Port of Virginia’s Portsmouth Marine Terminal in September 2023. The 176 transition pieces (TPs) will be delivered by Bladt Industries from Denmark.

The project is currently wholly owned by Dominion Energy but is in the process of becoming a 50:50 partnership between Dominion Energy and the New York City-based investment firm Stonepeak.