In a major milestone, the 2.6-gigawatt (GW) Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW), which will be the US’s largest offshore wind farm, has installed its first monopile foundation.

The Orion, DEME Group’s heavy lift vessel, installed the monopile foundation approximately 29 miles off the Virginia Beach coast.

CVOW, which is being developed and will be owned by electric utility Dominion Energy, will feature 176 Siemens Gamesa 14 megawatt (MW) wind turbines, three offshore substations, and new onshore transmission infrastructure.

Once construction is complete in 2026, the US’s largest offshore wind farm will provide clean electricity for around 660,000 households and will support 1,100 jobs. It’s expected to generate fuel savings of $3 billion for customers during the first 10 years of operation.

The monopile foundations – steel tubes driven into the seabed to support the wind turbine generators – were manufactured by Rostock, Germany-based EEW SPC and are being staged at Portsmouth Marine Terminal.

Dominion Energy will continue to install monopiles as planned through the fall of 2024. However, it will pause all monopile installations from November 1, 2024, to April 30, 2025, to safeguard the endangered North Atlantic right whale during its migration period through the project area.

Additional protective measures for whales and other marine life include using bubble curtains – perforated hoses that pump out air to form a barrier of bubbles around the monopiles during installation – which dampen underwater sound waves. Protected Species Observers will staff vessels that will comply with speed restrictions to prevent collisions with the whales.

Robert M. Blue, Dominion Energy’s chair, president, and chief executive officer, said, “We are taking extensive precautions to ensure this project is fully protective of the environment and to protect marine species.”

Read more: This US offshore wind farm is piloting a bubble curtain – what it is and why it’s cool

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