Denmark’s Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities has entered into a cooperation agreement on offshore wind with the US state of Virginia, after a few months of working on the agreement with the government of Virginia, together with the Danish Energy Agency and with assistance from the Danish embassy in the US.
According to the Danish Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities, Dan Jørgensen, Virginia has great ambitions for offshore wind and decades of Danish experience can help ensure that the state successfully delivers its ambitions.
Meanwhile, Virginia’s offshore wind expansion and targets, together with its openness to foreign companies, are opening and maturing a new market for experienced offshore wind businesses, including those from Denmark, with several Danish companies already involved in offshore wind projects in the state.
So far, Bladt Industries and Semco Maritime have entered contracts for the 2.6 GW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project, the world’s largest single offshore wind farm, and Siemens Gamesa is establishing a wind turbine blade factory in the state in connection with the CVOW project. The developer Dominion Energy has also chosen Ramboll to support the development and engineering aspects of the 2.6 GW offshore wind farm.
In addition, Ørsted has been involved in the construction of the 12 MW demonstration Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, now up and running in federal waters off the state’s coast.
Virginia plans to haves 5.2 GW of installed offshore wind capacity by 2034. With the Biden-Harris administration’s target of 30 GW of offshore wind in the US by 2030, there is great potential for Danish companies in the US offshore wind market, according to the Danish Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities.
The agreement now signed with Virginia is part of the Danish Energy Agency’s cooperation with a number of US states on green transition, initiated in 2017 under the Energy Governance Partnership programme. The programme focuses on offshore wind and energy efficiency in buildings and industry at the federal and state levels, respectively.
Under the Energy Governance Partnership programme, Denmark currently also cooperates with energy authorities in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, South Korea, Japan, Poland and France.