Virginia makes bid for offshore wind energy test sites
In what could prove to be a major step in advancing Virginia’s leading role in offshore wind energy, Virginia officials proposed last week that the U.S. Department of Energy locate three offshore wind test sites in Hampton Roads. Bloomberg Businessweek reports that the proposed $60 million to $80 million demonstration project would consist of wind turbines built at three separate locations – the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel, near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel and near the Chesapeake Lighthouse.
The turbines would record data related to wave, weather and wind activity, as well as monitor bird flight patterns in the area. The sites would also measure the compatibility of offshore wind development with military operations coming out of Naval Station Norfolk. The Department of Defense completed an assessment earlier this year which found that most of the tracts being considered for wind development would not interfere with naval operations.
In a report released in April 2010, the Virginia Coastal Energy Research Consortium identified 25 potential lease blocks 12 to 15 miles off Virginia’s coast encompassing more than 220 square miles that would be suitable for wind energy production. The Virginia General Assembly created the Consortium in 2006 to research Virginia’s offshore energy potential. The Consortium believes that multiple wind farms in these lease blocks would have the potential to generate 3,200 megawatts of electricity (or, 10%-20% of Virginia’s electricity) and generate 9,700 to 11,600 permanent jobs within 20 years.
The number of jobs and total amount of economic impact on Virginia will depend on whether the turbines and blades are manufactured in Virginia and whether the federal government can trim down the cumbersome regulatory process currently in place to attract developers. The 130-turbine Cape Wind project slated for the shores off Cape Cod, Massachusetts was originally proposed 10 years ago and is still mired in litigation and impeded by regulatory hurdles.
Lynchburg-based AREVA has expressed an interest in building a major wind components manufacturing plant in Hampton Roads; however, unless Virginia acts to offer more favorable incentives to locate the facility here, the Commonwealth could lose out to states such as Delaware and Maryland that have more competitive climates for wind energy manufacturing.
The demonstration and research project is a necessary first step in determining the feasibility and environmental impact of offshore wind development off Virginia’s coast. Virginia is uniquely positioned to harness offshore wind for electricity because of its Class 6 winds, shallow water depths and proximity to existing transmission lines. Earlier this year, the Virginia General Assembly strengthened Virginia’s position by establishing the Virginia Offshore Wind Development Authority to expedite the protracted federal permitting and leasing process.
