Tuesday, December 10, 2024

Regulators green light offshore wind project near Virginia Beach

Gov. Ralph Northam and Dominion Energy President and CEO Thomas F. Farrell on board the research vessel that will map out the ocean floor. (Southside Daily photo/Courtesy of Dominion Energy)
Gov. Ralph Northam and Dominion Energy President and CEO Thomas F. Farrell on board the research vessel that will map out the ocean floor. (Southside Daily photo/Courtesy of Dominion Energy)

Virginia state regulators have begrudgingly approved a proposed offshore wind pilot program they say is expensive, risky and unneeded to provide reliable electricity.

The State Corporation Commission issued a ruling Friday allowing Dominion Energy to proceed with building two wind turbines about 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach.

The commission says the proposal would not be considered “prudent” under any normal definition of the word, but a new law Dominion helped write required the commission to approve it.

Commissioners note that Dominion’s customers will bear “essentially all the risk” if the estimated $300 million project has cost overruns or has performance issues.

Gov. Ralph Northam supported the law and wants to make Virginia an East Coast hub for offshore wind energy.

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