RICHMOND, VA. Yesterday, Dominion Energy announced a new agreement to acquire an offshore wind lease from Avangrid to develop the 40,000-acre area near Virginia Beach that is currently known as Kitty Hawk North Wind. The lease area, which will be renamed CVOW-South (after Dominion’s nearby Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project), could support 800 MW of offshore wind generation by the 2030s, enough capacity to serve 200,000 homes and businesses.

The news comes as attention focuses on how Virginia will meet its energy needs with a booming data center industry. Dominion has said that more new gas plants will be needed to meet this demand. Yet experts say it’s cleaner and cheaper to meet this demand with a combination of increased efficiency and renewable energy sources, like the new offshore wind proposal.

Statement from Victoria Higgins, Virginia Director for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN):

“We are excited to see Dominion building on its offshore wind portfolio, a key tool to meet pressing climate deadlines and rising demand for clean electricity. Wind, solar, energy efficiency, and other clean technologies are our future and Virginia is rising to meet the occasion. This project will help us leave dirty fossil fuels where they belong — in the past.”

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The Chesapeake Climate Action Network, the oldest and largest grassroots organization dedicated exclusively to raising awareness about the impacts and solutions associated with climate change  in the Chesapeake Bay region. For more than 20 years, CCAN has been at the center of the fight for clean energy and wise climate policy in Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and beyond.