Offshore Wind Turbines Near Virginia Beach: Progress on Coastal Renewable Energy Development

Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project has achieved a significant milestone with the delivery of its first power to the electrical grid, marking progress on what will become the largest offshore wind farm in the United States upon completion.

The project, located off the coast of Virginia Beach, produced its first power on March 23, 2026, as announced by Dominion Energy CEO Robert Blue via social media. Blue stated that the achievement was “right on schedule” and added much‑needed electricity to help meet the nation’s fastest‑growing power demand.

CVOW is being developed in two phases. The initial phase, consisting of two pilot turbines installed in 2020, has already been operational. The second and much larger phase involves the installation of 176 Siemens Gamesa 14 MW wind turbines, which will give the project a total installed capacity of 2.6 gigawatts. Once fully commissioned, this capacity will generate enough carbon‑free, renewable energy to power up to 660,000 homes.

The first of the 176 turbines for the commercial-scale phase was installed in January 2026 by the Charybdis, a Jones Act‑compliant wind turbine installation vessel commissioned by Dominion Energy and built at Seatrium’s AmFELS shipyard in Brownsville, Texas. This vessel is the first of its kind to be used in a U.S. Offshore wind project.

Construction on the CVOW project began in 2024 but faced a temporary halt when, on December 22, 2025, the U.S. Government issued a stop‑work order for CVOW and four other offshore wind farms under construction. In response, Dominion Energy filed for legal relief in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on December 23, 2025. The court granted a preliminary injunction on January 16, 2026, allowing work to resume.

Despite the earlier delay, the project remains on track for full completion in early 2027. Upon full commissioning, CVOW will become the largest offshore wind farm in the United States and one of the largest in the world today. The project is a key component of Virginia’s all‑of‑the‑above energy strategy, as noted by Dominion Energy leadership.

As of March 24, 2026, the project had successfully delivered its first power to the grid, with additional turbines expected to come online in the coming months as installation continues. The development represents a significant step forward in the expansion of offshore wind energy along the Atlantic coast.