Dominion Defends Construction Timeline for Virginia Offshore Windfarm

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Dominion Energy Incorporated (NYSE:D) (Richmond, Virginia) said the planned construction of a windfarm off the coast of Virginia is not impacted by recent legal action from environmental advocates.

Dominion said Wednesday that any suggestion that its Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) would be delayed is "false and grossly misrepresent(s) the facts."

A lawsuit was filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia arguing there wasn't enough research on the environmental impacts of CVOW, particularly regarding the North Atlantic right whale (NARW), an endangered species.

In their complaint, three public interest groups and two private citizens expressed concern that the windfarm would hurt the whale's chance for survival. With just 332 individuals left, the plaintiffs argued that "the CVOW project will likely outlive the NARW as a species unless the relevant federal authorities, including the defendants here, change course and begin to impose immediate and effective protections designed to ensure the continued existence of this iconic marine mammal."

A dead North Atlantic whale, along with a newborn calf, was found near Virginia Beach earlier this year. Public speculation led to finger-pointing at the offshore wind energy sector, though the federal government finds most North Atlantic whales have died as a result of entanglement in fishing gear or from vessel strikes.

A report from WGBH, the National Public Radio affiliate in Boston, found that, based on interviews with "a half dozen" scientists and whale advocates, climate change itself poses a greater threat to animal species than offshore wind.

The judge in the case, meanwhile, called on both Dominion Energy and the federal government to respond to the lawsuit by May 6, after which a ruling on the preliminary injunction is expected.

"Dominion Energy strongly believes that the project's biological opinion is compliant with all legal requirements and expects to prevail against the request for a construction delay," the company said.

Dominion in February sold off a non-controlling 50% stake in CVOW to private investment firm Stonepeak (New York, New York), though the energy company will maintain full operational control and lead construction and future operations.

The CVOW project will include 176 turbines and three offshore substations on a lease area 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach for a planned peak capacity of 2.6 gigawatts (GW).

Dominion said Wednesday it plans to start installing some of the monopiles necessary for the offshore installation next week. Once completed, it will be the largest offshore wind farm in U.S. territorial waters.

The federal government set the goal of establishing 30 GW of offshore wind energy by 2030 and another 15 GW in floating offshore capacity by 2035. In April, the government unveiled a new five-year lease plan that outlines 12 potential areas for offshore wind energy.

So far, the government has approved eight commercial-scale offshore wind projects, which would combine for a peak energy capacity of 10 GW.

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