Thirteen years in the making, the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project is finally delivering clean kilowatts to the US grid. At 2.6 gigawatts and $11.5 billion, the new wind farm is one of the biggest single energy projects in the US. CVOW is also by far the biggest wind farm in the US, and among the biggest in the world. With all this bigness going on, one might think US President Donald Trump will issue some sort of celebratory statement…hold, please…
The newly operational wind farm also slots neatly into the affordability picture. A study produced back in 2024 shows that offshore wind power plants are now less expensive than natural gas. Advocates also emphasize that wind turbines perform best during strong winter winds, whereas gas prices can spike during the same season.
Not helping on the affordability end of things is Trump, who famously called a halt to CVOW last year along with four other wind farms on the Atlantic coast. All five offshore projects eventually resumed construction, but the delay didn’t come cheap. For CVOW alone, Trump’s stop-work order added an estimated $230 million in construction costs.
The extra costs will be passed on to ratepayers, who can expect to pay an average of 43 cents more on their monthly electricity bills. That still sounds like a bargain, and it is compared to the cost of electricity in other states. Dominion notes costs in its tri-state service area fall much lower than the national average, with North Carolina taking the lead at 24% less.
Besides, electricity demand is skyrocketing in all three states, and alternative power sources are more expensive. Dominion expects CVOW to save $3 billion in fuel costs during the first 10 years of operation alone, based on 2023 costs. Now that Trump has upended global energy markets, that savings is likely to increase.
It’s also worth noting that large new power plants of any sort, wind or not, can raise electricity rates if they require significant grid upgrades. Dominion has reported that the cost of onshore upgrades required by the regional grid operator PJM pushed the cost of CVOW up about 9% from the original estimate.
On the same day that CVOW began delivering electricity to the grid, the French firm TotalEnergies took a billion-dollar payout from the Trump administration to walk away from two offshore leases along the Atlantic coast. The move was excoriated by clean energy advocates, but money talks — in more ways than one.
The financial picture for the two lease areas is not pretty, with one of them located in the New York Bight. This setback highlights the challenges faced by investors and developers in the offshore wind sector, which are often subject to shifting government policies and regulations.
As CVOW continues to operate and generate clean energy, it serves as a reminder that investment in renewable sources is crucial for a sustainable future. The project's completion marks an important milestone in the US transition towards cleaner energy sources.
The completion of the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project marks a significant milestone for the US renewable energy sector.
