Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) by Dominion Energy: status and timeline

Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW)

Supply Virginia with up to 9.5 million MWh of power a year from offshore wind, avoiding up to 5 million tons of CO2 a year.

DeployStage 4 of 5

Delivering power since March 2026; about 81% complete with 31 turbines up (Jul 2026); last turbine end-2027.

Updated 31 Jul 2026Checked 11 Oct0 updates this week

Milestones

Next · Final (176th) turbine installed

Two 6 MW pilot turbines running in federal waters2020Complete.
Federal approval of the construction and operations planJan 2024Complete.
All 176 turbine foundations installedSep 2025Complete.
Work resumes after court lifts federal stop-work order16 Jan 2026Complete.
First power delivered to the gridMar 2026Complete.
Final (176th) turbine installedTarget Q4 2027+12 mo~~originally Q4 2026~~Current milestone.

Most important updates

Upcoming

Q4 2027Final (176th) turbine installed+12 mo~~originally Q4 2026~~ (next)

Current obstacles

Slow final turbine campaignWeather, ship maintenance, loading and longer jacking on harder seabed pushed the last turbine back about six months; each extra quarter adds cost.
Federal opposition to offshore windA December 2025 stop-work order paused offshore work for nearly a month until a court injunction; the lawsuit itself is still running.
Tariff-driven cost growthAbout $800M of tariffs raised the budget; after the Supreme Court ended those tariffs, it is unclear whether Dominion or customers get that money back.

Physics limits

Power grows with the cube of wind speedA turbine's output rises with wind speed cubed, so small changes in wind swing output a lot, and calm spells drop it near zero. Offshore winds are steadier, but still variable.
No turbine can capture more than 59% of the wind's energyThe Betz limit: a rotor must let air pass through, so at most 59% of the wind's kinetic energy can be extracted. Real rotors reach roughly 45-50%.
Bigger turbines strain materials and shipsLonger blades sweep more wind, but mass grows faster than area, and installing them needs ever larger cranes and vessels working in a short weather window.

How it works

4 parts

Foundations

Steel tubes driven into the seabed

Each turbine stands on a monopile, a giant steel tube hammered into the seafloor. All 176 went in by September 2025.

Turbines

Turbines installed by a jack-up ship

The ship Charybdis lowers its legs to the seabed, lifts itself above the waves, then cranes tower, nacelle and blades into place. Four turbines per trip.

Grid link

Three offshore substations and export cables

Cables gather power from strings of turbines into three offshore substations, which raise the voltage and send it ashore.

Phased start

Power arrives string by string

Turbines start generating as each cable string is finished, so output grows through construction rather than at one switch-on.

Spec sheet

Spec	Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW)
Capacity	2.6 GW^R (reported)
Turbines	176^R (reported)
Turbine rating	14.7 MW (Siemens Gamesa SG 14-222 DD)^R (reported)
Distance offshore	27 to 44 miles^R (reported)
Expected output	Up to 9.5 million MWh/year^R (reported)
Estimated project cost	About $11.65B (Jul 2026)^R (reported)
Cost per MWh of power	$84/MWh^R (reported)

^R reported by the company

Peer comparison

Wind peers

Spec	Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW)	Ørsted Revolution Wind
Capacity	2.6 GW^R (reported)	704 MW^R (reported)
Turbines	176^R (reported)	65 x Siemens Gamesa SG 11.0-200 DD^R (reported)
Turbine rating	14.7 MW (Siemens Gamesa SG 14-222 DD)^R (reported)	11 MW^R (reported)

^R reported by the company

Update log

4 updates

About Dominion Energy

The team behind Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW)

Dominion Energy

Utility, CVOW offshore wind, nuclear

Dominion Energy is a utility in Richmond, Virginia, serving about 4.1 million mostly electric customers in Virginia and the Carolinas. It runs nuclear, gas and renewable plants and is building the largest US offshore wind farm.

CVOW: 176 turbines, 2.6 GW, 27 to 44 miles off Virginia Beach; first power reached the grid in March 2026.
Cost estimate about $11.65B (Jul 2026), with roughly $800M from tariffs; the last turbine is now expected by end of 2027.
A court injunction in January 2026 let work resume after a December 2025 federal stop-work order.

dominionenergy.com (opens dominionenergy.com)Company profile →

Founded: 198343 yrs
Headquarters: United States
Status: Public
Valuation: public
Staff: ~15,200
Works in: EnergyWind
Coverage: 1 program · 4 updateslatest 31 Jul 2026checked 11 Oct
Partners: Ørsted
Investors: Stonepeak
Suppliers: Siemens Gamesa
People: Robert BlueChair, President and CEOSteven RidgeChief Financial Officer

Spec

Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW)

Capacity

2.6 GW^R (reported)

Turbines

176^R (reported)

Turbine rating

14.7 MW (Siemens Gamesa SG 14-222 DD)^R (reported)

Distance offshore

27 to 44 miles^R (reported)

Expected output

Up to 9.5 million MWh/year^R (reported)

Estimated project cost

About $11.65B (Jul 2026)^R (reported)

Cost per MWh of power

$84/MWh^R (reported)

Spec

Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW)

Ørsted Revolution Wind

Capacity

2.6 GW^R (reported)

704 MW^R (reported)

Turbines

176^R (reported)

65 x Siemens Gamesa SG 11.0-200 DD^R (reported)

Turbine rating

14.7 MW (Siemens Gamesa SG 14-222 DD)^R (reported)

11 MW^R (reported)

Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW)

Milestones

Most important updates

Upcoming

Current obstacles

Physics limits

How it works

Steel tubes driven into the seabed

Turbines installed by a jack-up ship

Three offshore substations and export cables

Power arrives string by string

Spec sheet

Peer comparison

Update log

Fri 31 Jul

Mar 2026

Fri 16 Jan

Mon 22 Dec 2025

About Dominion Energy

Current obstacles

Physics limits

How it works

Steel tubes driven into the seabed

Turbines installed by a jack-up ship

Three offshore substations and export cables

Power arrives string by string

Spec sheet

Peer comparison

Update log

Fri 31 Jul

Mar 2026

Fri 16 Jan

Mon 22 Dec 2025

About Dominion Energy