ENVIRONMENTAL CENTS: Dominion's Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project
The project's first wind turbine began generating electricity on March 23.
By Bruce Saller
COLUMNIST
The first wind turbine of Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project began generating electricity on March 23.
The project consists of one hundred seventy-six 14.7 mega-watt (MW) turbines, plus two six MW pilot turbines installed in 2020, built twenty-six miles off the coast.
The 2.6 billion watt (GW) project is the largest offshore wind farm in the country. When completed in early 2027, the turbines should produce around 10,000 GW Hours of electricity annually, which is 10% of Dominion’s overall 2024 electricity production.
The project’s cost to customers is projected to be $10.8 billion, or $1.08 for each kilo-watt hour (KWH) generated annually. This is a large amount, but for comparison, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) estimates its first 300 MW small nuclear reactor will cost $5.4 billion, with subsequent ones costing $3.7 billion.
The 300 MW reactor should produce around 2,500 GW hours annually, or $2.16 per KWH for the first unit and $1.48 for subsequent units. Nuclear reactors have higher operating costs than wind turbines since they need to pay for fuel, re-fueling, etc., causing the cost differential to grow even higher.
Dominion has a lease option on another offshore site adjacent to the current project. Per their 2025 Integrated Resource Plan, Dominion plans to add 800 MW of wind turbines in 2034, and another 2600 MW in 2039.
With their demand projected to grow by 10,000 GWH a year for the next decade, they should consider accelerating their installation schedule.
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Interesting. Evidently there is no maintenance cost of the wind turbines. That's downright amazing. Also, because the wind is free, we should see our electric bills go down. No?? The bills went up? But why? It's FREE!
Then we have the question of how much it will cost to retire/replace the wind turbines when they wear out and reach the end of their lifecycle in 10-20 years. I suppose that's free, too.
It's just more enviro-propaganda being sold by the ones making the money. Ask Germany and the rest of Europe how the wind turbines are working out. Ask Texas.