First Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Substation Checks In at US Port

CVOW substation at the Port of Virginia (Credit: Port of Virginia)

Port of Virginia’s Portsmouth Marine Terminal has welcomed the arrival of the first substation to be installed at the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project.

The CS Wind Offshore and Semco Maritime consortium was selected by Dominion Energy in 2021 to deliver three 880 MW offshore substations for the project, under development by Dominion Energy.

CVOW farm is located approximately 40 kilometers off the coast of Virginia Beach, and, once fully operational within the coming years, will include 176 wind turbines that will provide enough power to supply 660,000 Virginia households.

The substation is the first of its kind to ever arrive at a U.S. East Coast port and, at more than 4,000 tons, is the heaviest piece of equipment ever handled at the port, according to Port of Virginia.

In December 2024, the first of three offshore jacket foundations, standing 60-meter-tall and weighing approximately 2,445.6 tonnes, has been shipped from the production site at the Port of Esbjerg where it was manufactured.

The jacket foundation will serve as one of the supporting elements for an offshore transformer station for Dominion Energy’s 2.6 GW CVOW project.