Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced Thursday that Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will begin its environmental review of Dominion Energy’s (NYSE:D) Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project.
BOEM’s Notice of Intent, which is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register July 2, begins a 30-day public comment period. BOEM will hold virtual public scoping meetings for the environmental impact statement (EIS) on July 12 at 5:00 p.m., July 14 at 1:00 p.m. and July 20 at 5:00 p.m.
Haaland announced BOEM’s review of Dominion’s construction and operations plan (COP), the first major milestone in the federal permitting of the 2.6-GW project, during a tour of The Port of Virginia with U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Gov. Ralph Northam.
The project, with up to 205 turbines, will be located 27 miles from Virginia Beach.
It will require up to 300 miles of “inter-array” cables between turbines and up to nine submarine HVAC offshore export cables. The COP envisions up to three offshore substations and two cable landing locations at the State Military Reservation or Croatan Beach in Virginia Beach, or both.
It will connect to the PJM grid at Dominion’s existing Fentress Substation.
BOEM’s EIS will evaluate positive and negative impacts to air quality, water quality, bats, fish habitat, wetlands and commercial and recreational fishing. “Based on a preliminary evaluation … BOEM expects potential impacts to sea turtles and marine mammals from underwater noise caused by construction and from collisions with project-related vessel traffic,” it said.
BOEM expects to make the final EIS public in May 2023, with a record of decision issued at least 30 days later. Based on the EIS and consultations with stakeholders, BOEM will decide whether to approve, approve with modification, or reject the COP.
Last month, BOEM announced the North Atlantic Division of the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) will assist it in planning and reviewing renewable energy projects on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), starting with the Dominion project and Avangrid’s (NYSE:AVR) Kitty Hawk project off North Carolina.
The partnership resulted from President Biden’s Executive Order 14008, which directed interagency consultation between Interior and the Department of Defense to increase renewable energy production on public lands and offshore waters.
Last year, Northam and the Virginia General Assembly set a target of 5.2 GW of offshore wind by 2034.
The state’s Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME) has created a Division of Offshore Wind to work with stakeholders and coordinate economic development opportunities.
The Port of Virginia, located 30 nautical miles from the Dominion project, is being upgraded to accommodate the heavy loads involved in the construction of offshore wind projects.
A report conducted for DMME found the Port’s Portsmouth and Newport News marine terminals are best prepared for roles in the OSW buildout. “They each have sufficient space to accommodate multiple, co-located offshore wind activities, making them candidates for a future offshore wind manufacturing and deployment hub. The necessary upgrades to meet offshore wind requirements would cost up to $10 million at each port,” it said.
