June 24, 2024 — As Nature Conservancy marine scientist Brendan Runde motored into the Atlantic Ocean to study fish about 27 miles offshore from Virginia Beach, two 600-foot-tall wind turbines appeared in the distance. They steadily grew on the horizon, until one of them was towering over the comparatively tiny C-Hawk fishing boat Runde steered.
To catch the fish he was there to tag for his study, Runde had to keep the boat right beside the massive pilon — as the equally massive turbine blades swept by overhead.
“There’s 100 or 130 feet between the tip of the blade and the boat, but it doesn’t feel like that much when that thing’s coming down,” Runde said. “So, that’s pretty cool to experience.”
Runde is one of many scientists eager to fill in the remaining knowledge gaps around how the country’s growing offshore wind industry affects the environment. The turbine he was visiting was one of two “demonstration” units built in advance of Dominion Energy’s enormous Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) installation. Its construction got underway in earnest in May after the project received its final federal permit.
Once finished, with an estimated completion date of late 2026, it will be the largest wind energy installation in the U.S., in terms of both size and energy output. Its 176 turbines and three offshore substations will cover 112,800 acres, and it is expected to generate 2.6 gigawatts of electricity, enough to power at least 650,000 homes.
The project is in response to Virginia’s Clean Energy Act. The 2020 law demands that Dominion Energy deliver 100% of its electricity from carbon-free sources by 2045.
“Cutting emissions is important from a climate change perspective,” said Chris Moore, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Virginia executive director. “So, these types of projects can help reduce our impact on Chesapeake Bay resources, improve water quality, and help us meet our Bay goals.”
“I’m not sure that we can’t have it all,” he added. “I think it’s a matter of making sure that we site these things correctly, making sure that we try to reduce our impact on other resources.”