Offshore Wind Is Powering The Commonwealth – Both With Clean Energy and With Economic Opportunity

Offshore wind is one of the biggest drivers of success in Virginia today – which speaks volumes given the recent success that the Commonwealth has seen. Earlier this month, CNBC ranked Virginia as the top state for business in 2024 in a study based on categories including infrastructure, workforce and economy.

This comes as the swift growth of the offshore wind industry has only continued in recent months. The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project is continuing to move ahead on schedule and on budget. Monopiles at the project site are being installed by the day, a new submarine cable facility was just announced for the region, and several businesses and industries are flocking to the region in response to the potential for success.

All of this points to more jobs and more economic development opportunities for the Hampton Roads region – which locals are excited to welcome, as seen in our recently released video highlighting testimonials from residents and organizations in the region. According to Daniel LeGrande, president of Ocean Container Solutions, in the video: “[Virginia has] always been known for the shipbuilding and our ports, but now we have something else that is going to help support our area and the state of Virginia.”

The CVOW project is not only meant to bring economic gain to Virginians, but also to help the Commonwealth to meet its clean energy goals. Once the wind farm is fully operational, it will generate carbon-free energy to power 660,000 Virginia homes – in turn, removing substantial levels of carbon emissions from the air. The CVOW project will also serve to diversify our energy grid, which will help utility providers to ensure that our power supply is uninterrupted and affordable for years to come.

We know that Virginia has much to look forward to when the CVOW is complete, and we look forward to continuing to support the offshore wind industry in our Commonwealth.