Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE), the world’s largest supplier of offshore wind turbines, won the order for Dominion Energy’s 2,640-megawatt project off the coast of Virginia, U.S.A.
According to a press release from the Spanish-based engineering company company, this is the largest offshore wind power project in the rapidly increasing U.S. market to date.
A long-term service and maintenance agreement is included for the site located off the coast of Virginia. The agreement furthermore foresees utilizing turbines from Siemens Gamesa’s Direct Drive offshore wind turbine platform.
The final number of units and turbine model remain to be determined. All installations are expected to complete by 2026. The agreement is subject to certain conditions including Dominion Energy’s final investment decision, governmental permitting, and other required approvals.
“Signing this preferred supplier agreement with Dominion Energy attests to the enormously exciting growth taking place in the U.S. offshore wind industry and across the globe. We’re thrilled to have been chosen to support them in their commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and to once again do our part in combating climate change on a global level,” stated Markus Tacke, Siemens Gamesa CEO.
The agreement comes on the heels of Siemens Gamesa’s recent commitment to the ‘Business Ambition for 1.5C – Our Only Future’ pledge, contributing towards the fight for a zero emissions future.
“Internationally, every Siemens Gamesa Direct Drive offshore wind turbine we install increases the impact made by the renewable energy industry in avoiding CO2 emissions from power generation. Locally, we help our customers provide cost-efficient clean energy as well as additional economic benefits,” said Andreas Nauen, CEO of the Siemens Gamesa Offshore Business Unit.
Once online, the project is expected to provide enough clean energy to power 650,000 homes at rated wind speed, avoiding 3.7 million tons per year of carbon emissions compared to fossil fuel-based power generation. This is another milestone agreement for the United States as it aims to add 25 GW of renewable energy by 2030, enough to provide clean, renewable energy to approximately 12 million average homes, or 10% of total U.S. households.
“We’re confident that offshore wind power is already one of the fastest-growing, most important contributors on which Virginia state agencies can draw to reach their ambitious renewable energy goals. Receiving 30 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030 is fully feasible, and we are eager to lead the way for the citizens of the Commonwealth,” said Steve Dayney, Head of Offshore North America at Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy.
Steve said: “We have always believed that the Coastal Virginia demonstration project currently underway with Dominion Energy is a gateway to something bigger and now Virginia is poised to benefit from the wide-ranging economic benefits the Dominion Energy Virginia Offshore Wind project will bring.”
Dominion Energy Virginia Offshore Wind expands on knowledge gained though the current two-turbine,12-MW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project. It is the first offshore wind project to be built in U.S. Federal waters and will utilize Siemens Gamesa’s 6-MW SWT-6.0-154 wind turbines. CVOW is set to be online in 2020 within a research lease area adjacent to site of the 2,640-MW project will be located.
The agreement for Dominion Energy Virginia Offshore Wind also provides for certain early works to support project development, including turbine layouts which will be used in the Construction and Operations Plan (COP) submittal to the United States Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in late 2020.