The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded $4 million for an offshore wind energy test project led by Dominion Virginia Power.
The Richmond-based electric utility plans to design, develop and install two 6-megawatt turbines in the Atlantic Ocean on innovative “twisted jacket” foundations that offer the strength of traditional structures but use substantially less steel.
“Winds off the coast of Virginia hold great potential for electricity generation,” said Mary C. Doswell, senior vice president for alternative energy solutions at Dominion Resources Inc., the parent company of Dominion Virginia Power.
“The challenge will be to harness this energy and bring it to our customers at reasonable cost.”
The test project is one of seven to be awarded grants to complete the engineering, design and permitting phase of test offshore wind generation turbines, according to the Energy Department.
“The primary goals of these projects are to achieve large cost reductions over existing offshore wind technologies and develop viable and reliable options for the United States,” the department said.
The projects will address key challenges involved with installing utility-scale offshore wind turbines, connecting them to the power grid, and working through the new permitting and approval processes, the Energy Department said.
“To achieve that will take a lot of creative engineering to find innovative ways to lower costs, which is the goal of the DOE program,” Doswell said. “We have the right team in place to begin this work with the goal of being chosen ultimately to build the demonstration facility.”
After the testing phase, the federal agency will select up to three of the seven projects for follow-on phases that focus on siting, construction and installation, aimed at achieving commercial operation by 2017.
The projects could receive up to $47 million each over four years.
Other organizations on the Dominion Virginia Power wind project team are:
• Alstom Power Inc., an international wind turbine manufacturer and power generation equipment and services supplier; (Dominion Virginia Power said Alstom’s Richmond operation will be involved in the project.)
• KBR Inc., a global engineering, construction and services firm;
• Virginia’s Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy;
• U.S. DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory;
• Virginia Tech Advanced Research Institute, representing the Virginia Coastal Energy Research Consortium; and
• Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Newport News-based Huntington Ingalls Industries.
Dominion Virginia Power’s proposed 12-megawatt offshore wind facility would consist of two Alstom 6-megawatt turbines located in federal Atlantic waters about 22 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach, although the company said the ultimate site will depend on detailed investigations.
Twelve megawatts would provide enough electricity for 3,000 homes at peak demand, Dominion Virginia Power said.
In March, Dominion Virginia Power told the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management that it is interested in obtaining leases off the Virginia coast in an area that has the potential to generate approximately 1,500-2,000 megawatts of electricity from offshore wind turbines, or enough electricity for 500,000 homes at peak demand.
In November, the federal agency announced that it would place about 113,000 acres off the Virginia coast up for auction as a single lease next year.
The other technology demonstration partnerships receiving federal funds are based in New Jersey, Connecticut, Maine, Texas, Ohio and Washington.
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