MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia will be a key player in the Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind Projects- the largest off shore wind farm on this side of the Atlantic Ocean. Dominion Energy, Danish company Orsted, Eversource and Steel of West Virginia have formed a partnership to build a 472-foot vessel, the Charybdis, that will be used to build wind farms off the coast of New England and Virginia.
This project is part of the Biden administration plan to develop 30 gigawatts of off shore energy production by 2030.
U.S. Senator Joe Manchin said developing clean energy is a world priority and key to economic growth and security.
“China is going to make sure they have an energy advantage and that’s how they have come on so strong in a short period of time,” Manchin said,” But, they’ve thrown to the wind to the environment.”
The ship will be constructed at the Keppel AmFEL’s shipyard in Brownsville, Texas with 1,600 short tons of steel produced by Huntington-based Steel of West Virginia.
“We want off shore wind in American to be built with American parts and American labor and that begins with the Charybdis,” Bob Blue, President and CEO of Dominion Energy said,” These are good jobs for American workers, jobs that pay well.”
Secretary of the Department of Energy Jennifer Granholm insists this plan is part of the Biden initiative to create opportunities in communities that need help.
“In America we stand up for manufacturing in this country, but particularly in communities that have been struggling,” Granholm said.
The ship will be one of sixteen similar vessels in the world and will totally dedicated to wind farm construction. When the ship is completed in 2023 it will move to New London, Connecticut where it will begin construction of wind farms off the coast of New England for Orsted.
After the New England projects are complete the ship will begin construction of the 2.6 gigawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project for Dominion Energy 27 miles off the coast that is expected to be complete in 2026. When that project is complete the ship will continue to build wind farms for other companies and be operated by Dominion Energy.
According to President and CEO of Orsted Dave Hardy, from manufacturing the steel, building the ship, fabricating parts for the turbines, construction and operation the process will create thousands of well-paying jobs. Hardy anticipates growing the Orsted-American workforce from 200 mto 1,000 by the end of the decade.
“It takes literally hundreds if not thousands of people to build these huge offshore wind farms that are 1 gigawatt,” Hardy said,” That powers 500,000 homes.”
Granholm believes West Virginia will be a strong asset as natural gas, methane and other coal technologies are developed.
“The possibility in this state and so many workers who could help to lead the next generation, energy 2.0 for West Virginia and the nation,” Granholm said.