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Wind Power News: Virginia
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch in its noncommercial educational effort to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Croatan residents complain of loud noises from Dominion Energy wind turbine project
Dominion Energy continues to work on its $9 billion wind turbine project that it says will bring more reliable, sustainable energy for more than 600,000 households. In all, 176 wind turbines are being built off the coast of Virginia Beach to provide more reliable energy. But residents of the adjacent Croatan neighborhood are unhappy with the noise and vibrations it’s causing, voicing their concerns at a Virginia Beach City Council meeting Tuesday. “It’s a peaceful neighborhood. Since November when they . . . Complete story »
After being ‘misled’ by appearance of wind turbines, seaside residents awake to nightmare as houses begin to shake
A wind turbine project off the coast of Virginia Beach, Virginia, is whipping up some trouble for local homeowners. Dominion Energy is in the process of developing a 176-turbine project off the coast of the vacation community. But residents say the project is not making life any better. “It’s interfering with our lives every day—2 a.m. the other morning, I was awoken by the room shaking,” Julie Brown of Virginia Beach said, according to WTKR-TV. “It wasn’t the noise, it . . . Complete story »
Brock Environmental Center wind turbine catches fire after lightning strike
A wind turbine at the Brock Environmental Center in Virginia Beach caught fire Monday after being struck by lightning, according to the Virginia Beach Fire Department. Pictures shared with News 3, taken from the Dockside restaurant on Shore Drive, show one of the center’s turbines on fire with a trail of heavy smoke coming from it. When VBFD’s crew arrived, there were no flames, but smoke was coming from the wind turbine, fire officials say. Fire officials confirmed that the . . . Complete story »
Cutting down trees for offshore wind project puts homes at risk, residents say
Dominion Energy is under fire from homeowners in one Virginia Beach neighborhood as residents say all the trees the company has taken down as part of its offshore wind project has put their homes in danger. Right behind John Rooney’s property line in the Pine Ridge neighborhood, Dominion Energy has cleared a 140-foot wide strip of trees to make way for power lines that will carry power from the offshore wind turbines to a substation in Chesapeake. Rooney said that . . . Complete story »
Trees removed for offshore Coastal Virginia Wind project
Construction and tree clearing near Naval Air Station Oceana is catching the attention of drivers and neighbors. Dominion Energy says work along Oceana Boulevard and Harper’s Road is part of the 176-turbine Coastal Virginia Wind project. Carrie Rose Pace, a senior communications specialist with Dominion Energy’s electric transmission department, explained that the tree clearing along Oceana Boulevard, across from the base, is related to this project. She described it as duct bank work to install cables for the power that . . . Complete story »
Biden administration sued over Virginia offshore wind farm approval
A conservative think tank on Monday sued the Biden administration in an effort to reverse approval of what would be the largest offshore wind farm of its kind. The Heartland Institute filed the suit with the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, a nonprofit that advocates for an economically libertarian approach to environmental action and has denied the existence of human-caused climate change. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeks to reverse the National . . . Complete story »
Neighbors say Dominion Energy wind turbine project causing issues in Virginia Beach
Residents in the Croatan neighborhood of Virginia Beach are annoyed. Dominion Energy recently started the on-land portion of their Offshore Wind Turbine Project. The company plans on building 176 turbines about 20 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. When fully constructed in 2026, the “Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Commercial Project” will provide clean and renewable energy to their grid, cutting down on millions of tons of carbon emissions. “We come ashore at State Military Reservation, it goes underground through . . . Complete story »
Another wind-energy project in jeopardy after Virginia Beach signals they won’t let cables come ashore
Coalition files intent to sue federal agencies to stop whale-killing Virginia wind project
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the National Marine Fisheries Service have violated federal law by finding that the Virginia Offshore Wind project will not result in the destruction of the North Atlantic right whale as a species. Complete story »
Siemens Gamesa scraps plans to build blades for offshore wind turbines on Virginia’s coast
A European company has canceled plans to build blades for offshore wind turbines in coastal Virginia, the latest sign of struggle within the U.S.’s nascent industry. Siemens Gamesa confirmed the cancellation in a statement Friday. The company’s proposed $200 million factory at the Port of Virginia in Portsmouth would have created more than 300 jobs and aided the state in its aspirations to become a hub for offshore wind projects as part of the nation’s efforts to tackle climate change. . . . Complete story »
