Projects
- Coastal Virgina Offshore Wind Project: Dominion Energy Virginia plans to build two 6 MW turbines 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. DONG Energy of Denmark will construct the turbines. The project is estimated to be completed by the end of 2020. The project will be built on a 2,135 acre site leased by the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy which is adjacent to a 112,800 acre site leased by Dominion from the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
- Under Development: The Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) approved on March 27, 2012 construction of a 5MW turbine generator prototype in the Lower Chesapeake Bay, three miles off Cape Charles. Joint applicants Gamesa Energy USA and Huntington Ingalls Newport News Shipbuilding later cancelled the project. In December, 2013, Dominion Virginia Power proposed an offshore wind demonstration project 24 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach, VA. Since the withdrawal of $40 million in funding by the DOE in May, 2016, this project is being re-evaluated.
- Wind Energy Area (WEA) Expressions of Interest: Eight project developers expressed interest in the Virginia WEA, including: Apex Virginia Offshore Wind, LLC; Arcadia Offshore Virginia, LLC; Cirrus Wind Energy, Inc.; Dominion Resources, Inc.; enXco Development Corporation; Fishermen's Energy, LLC; Iberdola Renewables, Inc.; and, Orisol Energy US, Inc. The Virginia WEA contains 19 whole Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) blocks and 13 sub-blocks (approximately 112,799 acres in area).
Policy, Planning, & Regulations
- Energy & Climate Change Planning: On December 21, 2007 Governor Timothy Kaine issued Executive Order 59, which set a target of reducing statewide greenhouse gas emissions to 30% below business as usual by 2025. This goal was included in the 2007 Virginia Energy Plan and 2008 Climate Change Action Plan.
- Energy Demand/Incentives: Virginia established in 2007 a voluntary renewable energy portfolio standard (RPS) for investor-owned utilities to provide increasing amounts of electricity from renewable sales, by an amount equal to 15% of 2007 base load sales (total less sales attributable to nuclear generation) by 2025. A 2010 law enabled utilities to earn triple credit for purchases of offshore wind energy.
- Supply Chain: The Virginia Offshore Wind Development Authority (VOWDA) was established by law in 2010 to facilitate, coordinate, and support development of the Virginia offshore wind energy industry, offshore wind energy projects, and associated supply chain.
- Regional Ocean Management Planning: Virginia is a member of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Oceans (MARCO).
- Regional Electricity Transmission Planning: Generation and transmission of electricity is managed through the PJM Interconnection. Virginia is included in the Southeastern Electric Reliability Council (SERC) and the Reliability First Corporation (RFC).
Supporting & Complementary Assets/Infrastructure
- Supply Chain: The Hampton Roads region is the home to the largest industrial military complex in the U.S. The Virginia Port Authority (VPA) owns and operates three marine terminals in the Hampton Roads area: Norfolk International Terminal, Newport News Marine Terminal, and Portsmouth Marine Terminal. Newport News is the primary breakbulk facility with the strongest crane capacity, and has the most available land for future leasing. There are over 30 shipbuilding establishments in the area, one of the largest capacities in the U.S.
- Transmission & Grid Interconnection: In its 2010 study, Dominion Virginia Power (DVP) concluded that it would be possible to interconnect large-scale offshore wind generation facilities up to a total installed capability of 4,500 MW with the existing transmission system in the Virginia Beach area; however, as the actual output approaches 2,700 MW, there are greater probabilities that transmission constraints could limit output unless infrastructure improvements were made.
- R&D: The Virginia Coastal Energy Research Consortium (VCREC) was established by law in 2007 to provide the research and development required for the commercialization and implementation of new coastal energy technologies. It is governed by a board that includes representatives of Old Dominion University, Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), Virginia Tech Advanced Research Institute, James Madison University (JMU), Norfolk University, Virginia Commonwealth University, University of Virginia (UVA), Hampton University, and George Mason University (GMU).
Economic Fundamentals
- Population: 8.4 million (2.6% of US, 2016)¹
- Population change (2010-2016): 5.1%²
- Civilian labor force: 4.4 million (2.7% of US, 2017)¹
- Median hourly wage (all occupations): $18.78 (2016)³
- State corporate income tax rate: 6% (2017)⁴
- Per capita personal income: $53,723 (12th in US, 2016)¹
- Residential electricity prices: 11.88 cents/kWh (2017)¹
- Commercial electricity prices: 7.81 cents/kWh (2017)¹
- Industrial electricity prices: 6.57 cents/kWh (2017)¹
- Total energy production: 928 trillion Btu (1.1% of US, 2015)¹
- Net electricity generation: 6,764 thousand MWh (2.1% of US, 2017)¹
- Total energy consumption per capita: 283 million Btu (30th in US, 2015)¹
- Carbon dioxide emissions: 34,898 thousand metric tons (1.7% of US, 2015)¹
- Sulfur dioxide emissions: 31 thousand metric tons (1.2% of US, 2015)¹
- Nitrogen dioxide emissions: 34 thousand metric tons (1.9% of US, 2015)¹
- Total estimated technical offshore wind potential generation: 161,812 GWh/yr (2.2% of US, 2016)⁵
References: U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA)¹; U.S. Census Bureau²; U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)³; Tax Foundation⁴; and, U.S. Department of Energy, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)⁵