VIRGINIA BEACH — Virginia’s Dominion Energy has won a lease to continue growing its offshore wind portfolio near Virginia’s coast.
The move is expected to grow the Commonwealth’s utility industry and help it reach its clean energy goals. The lease is for more than 175,000 acres about 35 miles from the Chesapeake Bay. The federal government said the site could potentially produce 4 gigawatts, enough to power about 1.4 million homes.
Eileen Woll, offshore energy program director for the Virginia chapter of the Sierra Club, said the announcement shows the scale of the opportunity presented by renewables.
“If we play our cards right, I mean, that’s literally tens of thousands of jobs for all kinds of folks in our community,” Woll pointed out. “It is a brand-new industry and that’s why you see so much interest across the board.”
This new lease is right next to another massive offshore wind project expected to go online in 2026. Other nearby leases include a site near the Outer Banks and an area off the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Delaware. Woll argued the region should invest in apprenticeship programs for engineers, welders and other skilled workers who can help manufacture and build wind farms.
Virginia lawmakers passed a law in 2020 seeking to decarbonize the Commonwealth’s electric grid by midcentury.
Julia Pendleton, managing director of the Southeast Wind Coalition, said the announcement puts the power sector on track to reach the goals, even with a growing population and data center industry.
“Local leaders here really understand how it can help us both meet that rising energy demand, meet those legislatively mandated clean energy goals and create economic opportunity in the Commonwealth,” Pendleton asserted.
Once built, the wind farms will be difficult to see from the shoreline on a clear day. The federal government also said they have reviewed potential impacts to marine life and added regulations to mitigate any adverse effects. The Interior Department said it will hold more lease sales in the Central Atlantic in 2026.
