Washington, D.C. — Today, Dominion Energy installed the first monopile foundation for the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project. Once fully built, the 2.6 gigawatt project located 29 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach will generate enough clean energy to power 660,000 homes. Over 800 Virginia workers have worked on the CVOW project and it will support more than 1,000 jobs in Hampton Roads annually throughout its 20-year operation. Turn Forward celebrates this milestone and applauds the collaborative efforts of state and federal policymakers, industry innovators, and community leaders who are bringing offshore wind power to Virginia.
“The start of offshore construction for Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind is a momentous milestone in an already exciting year for offshore wind, as the first commercial scale project in the Southeast and the largest offshore wind energy project in U.S. history,” said Catherine Bowes, Senior Director, Turn Forward. “Thanks to its impressive port infrastructure, experienced maritime workforce, and now a major project under construction, Virginia is becoming a hub for the U.S. offshore wind industry. This is just the beginning of the enormous benefits offshore wind energy can bring to the state and the Hampton Roads region, including creating thousands of good-paying jobs, stabilizing energy prices, and providing clean, reliable, domestically-produced energy to American homes and businesses.”
CVOW is the third offshore wind project under construction in 2024 – supporting thousands of construction, operations, and maintenance jobs across the growing U.S. supply chain. The offshore wind industry continues to grow in the U.S., building off momentum from recent project announcements, approvals, completions, and milestones. Earlier this month, Orsted’s Revolution Wind project began offshore construction, joining Vineyard Wind in creating thousands of construction jobs to build and install turbines off the coast of southern New England. South Fork Wind, which created nearly 1,000 jobs, came online in March and is now powering New York with clean, locally produced power.
These milestones showcase America’s developing offshore wind workforce as the industry grows to support a projected 77,000 family-sustaining jobs within the next decade. Currently, there is enough offshore wind power in the pipeline to power 4 million homes and businesses, and Americans will benefit even more as projects come online, helping meet energy demand and stabilize prices.
Turn Forward is an independent, non-profit advocacy organization dedicated to advancing an ambitious vision for American offshore wind power that meets today’s climate, economic, equity, and environmental challenges.
For media inquiries, please reach out to media@turnforward.org