First Of The 176 Monopile Foundations Fitted At Dominion’s Virginia Offshore Wind Farm

Dominion Energy has declared the first monopile foundation at 2.6-GW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, installed about 29 miles off the Virginia Beach coast.

The Orion installed the monopile, a heavy lift vessel belonging to the DEME Group.

The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind is the most significant offshore wind farm under construction in the US.

Once completed, the $9.8 billion CVOW will comprise 176 turbines.

The firm maintains the project is continuing on schedule and is anticipated to be completed toward the end of 2026.

The monopile foundations staged at the Portsmouth Marine Terminal are unique single-vertical steel cylinders manufactured by EEW SPC.

They will be installed on the sea bed to assist the wind turbine generators.

In accordance with the construction timeline, Dominion Energy will continue installing monopiles throughout the fall of 2024 and restart the installations in May 2025.

Offshore Wind — Image Credits: DEME Group/Twitter

They are proud to collaborate with Dominion Energy on such a landmark deal, expressed Bill White, the president of DEME Offshore US.

DEME’s Orion, empowered with next-gen Vibro Hammer tech, is designed to install CVOW’s monopiles, which weigh more than 1,000 tons.

The project team will comprise skilled US union pile drivers, creating a well-prepared workforce.

He added that the team looks forward to working with the consortium partner Prysmian to help deliver Virginia-made energy to the Commonwealth.

This is an important day for the entire team of Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, which has worked endlessly to keep the project on budget and schedule and offer customers dependable, affordable, and increasingly clean energy, explained Robert M. Blue, Dominion Energy’s CEO, chair, and president.

They are also taking extensive precautions to ensure that the project is environmentally protective and safeguards marine species.

Monopile — Image Credits: DEME Group/Twitter

A federal judge will also decide if Dominion Energy obtained the federal approval for the deal.

In March, multiple groups filed a lawsuit that alleged Dominion had not obtained the approvals regarding the effects on the endangered North Atlantic right whale.

Experts suggest that there is no proof that limited wind farm construction on the Atlantic coast has resulted in whale deaths.

To safeguard the endangered North Atlantic right whale, Dominion states that no monopiles will be installed between November 1 and April 30, when the whales will likely be migrating past the project zone.

Additional measures to safeguard whales and other aquatic life include using bubble curtains, which are perforated hoses with air pumped through them, to build a wall of bubbles around the monopiles amid the installation, reducing the underwater soundwaves.

The Protected Species Observers will staff vessels.

These will also adhere to speed restrictions to avoid collisions with the protected species.

In February, Dominion Energy declared that it reached a deal to sell a 50% non-controlling interest in the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind to an investment major, Stonepeak, via the formation of an offshore wind collaboration in which Dominion Energy is going to retain total operational control of the construction as well as the operations of CVOW.

Reference: RenewableEnergyWorld

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