Virginia Attracts Top Industry Execs To Offshore Wind Conference

RICHMOND, VA — Wind energy officials will be gathering in Richmond next week as the city hosts an in-person conference on international offshore wind opportunities, with Virginia political leaders scheduled to give speeches.

The conference, the eighth annual International Offshore Wind Partnering Forum, will be held Aug. 24-26 at the Greater Richmond Convention Center in downtown. It's the first time the conference has been held in Virginia.

The annual conference brings together industry and government officials to discuss the offshore wind energy supply chain, which is now projected to be a $100 billion revenue opportunity in capital expenditures.

Conference speakers include Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam and Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney. Many leaders of top international offshore wind companies also are scheduled to give presentations.

On Monday, Aug. 23, the conference organizers will be conducting a tour of Dominion Energy’s proposed Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project off the coast of Virginia Beach. The proposed 2.6-gigawatt project is the largest planned offshore wind farm in the United States.

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During development and construction, the project is expected to create an average of 900 jobs through 2026, with a peak of about 1,500 jobs in 2024 and 2025.

Richmond-based Dominion Energy, along with Siemens Gamesa and Avangrid Renewables, are the host sponsors of the conference.

In July, Northam hosted U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland for a tour of the Port of Virginia in Norfolk and to discuss offshore wind industry supply chain opportunities. State officials are hoping that the port area could become a major industrial and logistics center for the wind energy industry.

"Virginia is all in on offshore wind. We are developing the infrastructure, workforce, supply chain, and manufacturing capabilities needed to capture the many benefits of this emerging industry," Northam said in a statement during Haaland's visit.

At next week's conference in Richmond, Amanda Lefton, director of the Interior Department's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Director, also is scheduled to speak. BOEM is the lead federal regulator of offshore wind energy projects in the United States.