VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Twenty-seven miles off the coast of Virginia Beach, you will find the construction of Dominion Energy’s offshore wind farm.
It’s a project WTKR has reported on extensively.
On June 17, Dominion offered an in-person look at the progress of the work.
You can see the project from a long way off.
As of June 17, two pilot, or test, wind turbines and a ship installing bases for more turbines were visible.
“It’s so exciting. There’s so many people who have worked so long on this," said Dominion Public Policy and Economic Development Director John Larson.
There will be 178 turbines, including the two test turbines which have been up and running since 2020.
Watch: Dominion Energy massive offshore Virginia wind farm gains key federal approval
“They’ve performed extremely well for us. The best thing about it is how much we’ve learned. We learned about installation from putting these two pilots in," Larson said. "(They've) helped us develop our plans on how to safely and efficiently maintain and take care of these wind turbines."
The remaining turbines will be about 200 feet taller.
The bases for 10 of them had been installed as of June 17.
Offshore substations will also be built to help get the power from the turbines to the power grid on land.
“Five to six turbines will be connected together on a cable that goes to an offshore substation," Larson explained. "The way that power works when it gets onto the grid is it just goes to where somebody turns on a switch or plugs something in that needs that power. So, it's not designated for homes."
The turbines are built to withstand a category three hurricane and have a lifespan of 30 years.
The multi-billion dollar project started in 2013 and will produce the equivalent of 660,000 houses worth of power.
Despite the benefits of the project, residents have complained about the construction, and Dominion has even had to pay a fine to the City and other local organizations because the wind turbines will be visible offshore.
Watch: Dominion Energy construction project is causing issues for Virginia Beach residents
It has also raised questions and concerns, including about the impact on whales.
“We’ve been collecting data, presenting studies, doing acoustic modeling for pile driving. (We’re) reviewing all this information, working with the agencies to ensure that we have a mitigation strategy that’s appropriate," Dominion Environmental Permitting Manager Mitchell Jabs said.
As News 3 has reported, numerous whales have washed up dead on beaches in Virginia and North Carolina in 2024.
Some people have speculated the vibrations from the work to install the turbines contributed to the deaths.
“The data from the National Marine Fisheries Service shows that offshore wind is not the contributor to those whale deaths," said Jabs.
Dominion plans to continue to monitor the impact of the project once it’s complete, including routine sight visits and tests of the bases to find out what species are there.
The entire wind farm project is currently expected to be completed in 2026.
A PowerPoint with more details is available here.
