Denmark-based Ramboll has been chosen by the US energy company Dominion Energy to support development and engineering aspects of the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project, which will become the largest offshore wind farm in the United States and one of the largest in the world.
The new 2.6 GW offshore wind farm will supply 650,000 US homes with zero-carbon electricity when in service by the end of 2026. It will make a significant contribution to the state of Virginia’s target of 30 percent renewable electricity by 2030. Ramboll will as the Owner’s Engineer provide consultancy to Dominion Energy on all development and engineering aspects of the farm.
Ramboll was selected through a competitive process based on a combination of cost, performance and a proven track record of successfully completed offshore wind projects in 21 countries. Its wind service portfolio ranges from initial wind farm planning and development support to detailed engineering of all major technical packages.
“We are proud that Dominion Energy has selected us as its trusted partner for such a strategically important role in its ambitious offshore wind project,” said Tim Fischer, Ramboll’s global offshore wind director. “The project allows us to not only bring to the table our experience in project development and owner’s engineering, but also in-depth expertise in detailed engineering and design across all relevant project packages, which makes us unique in the market and provides Dominion Energy with an effective one-stop-shop solution.”
“Ramboll is a respected, global leader in the offshore wind industry and their expertise will prove to be a valuable asset as we develop our Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project,” said Mark D. Mitchell, Dominion Energy’s vice president of generation construction. “Working with experienced offshore wind leaders, such as Ramboll, will help us bring clean, renewable energy to our customers and achieve our goal of net zero emissions.”
The offshore wind farm will become the largest in the US and underlines the US’s high ambitions in offshore wind. Although at present the US has only established 30 MW offshore wind, compared to approx. 20 GW in Europe, the Americans are planning major expansions in the coming years. The new order to Ramboll emphasizes that the US is well in the process of meeting the ambition of more than 20 GW offshore wind in 2030.
“Ramboll has worked in the US offshore wind market for more than 15 years, but we have been present on the European market for 30 years and have designed the foundations for over 60 percent of all offshore wind turbines in the world and have been involved in many other aspects along the project lifecycle of the majority of the world’s offshore wind farms. We are therefore well equipped to deliver on the big ambitions on especially the US East Coast,” says Tim Fisher.
On January 1, 2019, Ramboll acquired the US engineering company OBG (O’Brien & Gere) and got 900 energy, water and environment experts on board. With a total of 2,000 employees in the US, Ramboll is now even better equipped to handle the tough conditions in the US offshore wind market, which is characterized by State- and Federal-specific permitting requirements, but also demanding rules towards local content, which can both be dealt best with by having the right experts in the right US States.