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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy Plans Virginia Beach, Virginia, Offshore Wind Turbine

11/01/2021
Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy plans to establish an offshore wind turbine blade facility off the coast of Virginia Beach, Virginia. The $200 million project is expected to create 310 new jobs.

Virginia-based Dominion Energy had previously selected the company as its partner for the energy generation project 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. Next, Siemens Gamesa will lease more than 80 acres of the Commonwealth’s Portsmouth Marine Terminal and will build a facility to produce turbine blades supplying offshore wind projects in North America.

“We at Siemens Gamesa have shown the offshore wind industry the way for over 30 years. Establishing the industry’s first dedicated offshore wind turbine blade facility in the United States proves again that we are leading the offshore revolution,” said Marc Becker, CEO of the Siemens Gamesa Offshore Business Unit. “The U.S. offshore market is a critical part of our overall global strategy, with our presence in Virginia playing a crucial and central role. Our investment, reaching triple-digit millions of U.S. dollars, would be energized by the strong collaboration with Dominion Energy and support of Virginia’s legislature and authorities.”

Support for job creation will be provided through the Virginia Talent Accelerator Program, a workforce initiative created by Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) in collaboration with the Virginia Community College System and other higher education partners, with funding support from the Northam administration and the Virginia General Assembly.

“Offshore wind energy will create jobs and economic prosperity across the country, and with President Biden’s Build Back Better Agenda, we’re showing that the United States is open for business on clean energy,” said Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “Virginia is helping lead the way to strengthen the nation’s domestic supply chains of renewable energy and keep energy prices affordable for American households as we strive for a cleaner future.”

The announcement comes two months to the day after Governor Northam announced that Dominion Energy had agreed to lease 72 acres of the deep-water Portsmouth Marine Terminal as a staging and pre-assembly area for the foundations and turbines. Once fully constructed in 2026, Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project will generate enough clean, sustainable energy to power up to 660,000 homes at peak and avoid as much as 5 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, the company reports.

“Virginia is leading the way in offshore wind and using blades from this new facility in Hampton Roads on our Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project is a major win for the region,” said Robert M. Blue, Dominion Energy Chair, President, and CEO. “It is great to see well-paying, clean energy jobs are on the horizon as an offshore wind supply chain develops here in Virginia.”

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