First step for two major offshore wind farms in Virginia
The U.S. Interior Department recieved applications this week from two Virginia companies seeking to lease hundreds of thousands of acres 12 miles off Virginia’s coast for the purpose of building massive offshore wind power farms reports the Daily Press.
Apex Wind Energy Inc. is proposing to lease 116,000 acres for an undetermined number of wind turbines with the potential to generate up to 1,500 megawatts of power. Seawind Renewable Energy Corp. envisions building 240 turbines to generate enough power for more than 250,000 homes annually, according to a company statement.”
The two proposed offshore wind farms would be capable of supplying electricity to hundreds of thousands of homes in Virginia. The Virginia Coastal Energy Research Consortium – a body established by Governor Kaine to explore Virginia’s offshore energy potential – estimates that Virginia could generate as much as 20% of our electricity from offshore wind in the next decade or two.
The Virginia Offshore Wind Coalition estimates the development of a wind power hub in Virginia has the potential to become an $80 billion industry creating more than 10,000 jobs.
The Apex and Seawind applications were the first offshore wind proposals for Virginia to be submitted to the Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service. The lease application is only the first step in what is expected to a long process that could take more than 5 years. However, it is an important first step nonetheless.
Not only is there enormous potential for offshore wind power generaton in Virginia, but Hampton Roads’ manufacturing base is equipped and poised to play a leading role in building the massive turbines for the wind farms. Lynchburg-based energy giant Areva has expressed serious interest in building a large wind turbine manufacturing facility in Hampton Roads to equip Virginia’s and other East Coast state’s offshore wind industries. Areva’s wind business development director told Virginia’s Manufacturing Development Commission last fall that a major turbine manufacturing operations could generate as many as 8,000 jobs in the Commonwealth.
