Olivia Woods
A major win for Virginia’s fledgling offshore wind energy industry was announced Monday by U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Virginia Governor Ralph Northam. Siemens Gamesa is planning to build the United States’ first offshore wind turbine blade facility at the Portsmouth Marine Terminal.
Siemens Gamesa plans to invest more than $200 million in the Portsmouth Marine Terminal facility, which will make blades for offshore wind projects across North America.
For its 2.6 gigawatt Virginia Coastal Offshore Wind project, Dominion Energy chose Siemens Gamesa as the turbine supplier. Dominion’s 12 megawatt pilot became the nation’s first offshore wind installation in federal waters in January 2021. Over 300 jobs are expected to be created as a result of the facility’s opening.
The 2020 Virginia Clean Economy Act sets an ambitious target of developing 5.2 gigawatts of offshore wind power in Virginia by 2034. The U.S. Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management is currently evaluating Dominion’s CVOW project, which would generate half of that power.
Electric power producers see offshore wind as critical to their plans to move away from fossil fuels, as well as state and federal aspirations to develop renewable energy that can play the role of coal and natural gas while also growing the economy.
Since March, the administration’s goal for offshore wind deployment was 30 GW by 2030. Earlier this month, an ambitious plan to develop offshore wind along much of the East Coast, West Coast, and Gulf of Mexico was introduced by United State’s President Joseph Biden’s administration.
About Siemens Gamesa
Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy S.A. is a Spanish-German wind engineering company based in Zamudio, Biscay, Spain. It manufactures wind turbines and provides onshore and offshore wind services. It is the world’s second largest wind turbine manufacturer.
The company is notable for its SG 14.0-222 wind turbine, the largest variant based on the Siemens D7 Platform, as well as being the largest wind turbine in the world. Its main competition will be the General Electric Haliade-X and the MHI-Vestas V164.
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