Wind

'One step closer' | US advances 4GW of Atlantic offshore wind to final permitting stages

Two projects in Virginia and New York are fourth and fifth to reach milestone at this time as federal government strives for 16 records of decision by 2025

Offshore wind turbine blades being loaded for Dominion Energy's CVOW pilot project
Offshore wind turbine blades being loaded for Dominion Energy's CVOW pilot projectFoto: Recharge
  • Tim Ferry

Following its flagship floating wind auction last week off California, the US is maintaining offshore wind momentum with the release of draft environmental impact statements (EIS) for two projects with 4GW capacity off New York and Virginia.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the regulator of energy development in federal waters, released the draft for the 1GW Sunrise Wind and the up-to 3GW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) projects Monday.

The agency said this move will set up the projects for federal approval next summer.

“BOEM is committed to President Biden and Interior secretary Deb Haaland’s vision for a clean energy future,” said BOEM director Amanda Lefton. “Central to that is the comprehensive and rigorous review of projects.”

The EIS is an assessment by multiple federal agencies of each project's construction and operations plan (COP) to determine its impact on the local and regional environment. Release of the draft EIS is slated for 16 December publication in the Federal Register, the US government journal of record, opening a 60-day public comment period.

Depending on the results, BOEM will issue records of decision (ROD) to outright approve or deny the projects, or greenlight them contingent on mitigation measures.

CVOW is slated for a decision as early as June next year, followed by Sunrise in August.

CVOW in state jam

CVOW is the largest project under development in the US and the only one owned exclusively by a US utility, Dominion Energy of Virginia.

Some $6.9bn in supplier contracts have been signed for the nearly $10bn project, sparking millions in investment into Virginia’s Portsmouth Marine Terminal (PMT), including a $200m blade finishing plant pledged by OEM Siemens Gamesa upon finalising the sale of 176 of its 14MW SG14.0 222 DD turbines.
PMT is undergoing a $223m upgrade to serve as both marshalling and manufacturing port for the offshore wind industry.

“This is a major milestone that keeps CVOW on time and on budget for the benefit of Dominion Energy Virginia customers,” said Bob Blue, CEO of Dominion Energy. “We look forward to working with federal regulators and the public to ensure the project is fully protective of the environment.”

Despite progress in the federal domain, CVOW has run into a regulatory logjam with the state.

As a utility in the heavily regulated Virginia power market, Dominion is developing CVOW as if it were a conventional power project, with a guaranteed return on its investment conditional on state approval.

The Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC), the utilities regulator, has rejected the project’s cost estimates and concluded from its own calculations that the project could exceed the current forecast by some 70%.

To ensure revenue flow, SCC has demanded performance standards for power generation, which Dominion claims are unfeasible.

SCC is considering a compromise reached between the utility and major state stakeholders to allow the project to move forward.

Sunrise Wind on pace

Sunrise Wind is the third project being developed by the joint venture (JV) of Danish offshore wind heavyweight Orsted and New England utility Eversource to reach or pass this milestone, following South Fork Wind, which is fully approved and has entered construction, and Revolution Wind, which was issued its draft EIS.
Vineyard Wind 1 is the US’ first commercial scale project to be fully approved, while Ocean Wind 1 and Empire Wind 1 & 2 have received their draft EIS.

“This important federal permitting milestone puts Sunrise Wind one significant step closer to advancing New York’s ambitious climate goals,” said Ryan Ferguson, spokesman for Sunrise. “When complete, Sunrise Wind will deliver enough clean, renewable offshore wind energy to power nearly 600,000 New York homes, while accelerating development of the state’s local supply chain.”

The developer duo signed a 25-year deal for offshore renewable energy credits with the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority in October 2019 for 880MW of power from Sunrise, with the option to boost this 920MW, while its COP allows it to expand to 1.3GW through merchant power deals.
The project has contracted for delivery of 84 of Siemens Gamesa’s 11MW SG11.0-200DD turbines, while the OEM’s parent, Siemens Energy, with Aker Solutions will supply the project’s export and inter-array cables as well.
The project will be marshalled out of Connecticut’s State Pier, which the Orsted-led JV is contributing $75m of the $250m needed to transform it into an offshore wind staging and assembly centre.
The projects are the fourth and fifth to be currently in the draft EIS permitting stage, in line with pledges by BOEM to review at least 16 COPs by 2025, releasing potentially 19GW or more of capacity to move forward into construction.
The Biden administration has set a goal of 30GW of offshore wind plant in American waters by 2030, along with a parallel target of 15GW of floating by 2035, to reach 110GW by 2050.
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Published 13 December 2022, 22:00Updated 13 December 2022, 22:00
AmericasUSBOEMAmanda LeftonSunrise Wind