Virginia Beach is fast becoming the prime location when it comes to the US offshore wind market – providing opportunities for UK businesses to capitalise on this fast-growing sector.
On the East Coast of the United States, the city of Virginia Beach is growing into an offshore wind hub as it prepares for two large-scale wind farms to be built off its coast in 2024.
Additional wind farms and call areas newly identified for development in the Central Atlantic further establish Virginia Beach as the prime location for UK-based firms looking to capitalise on opportunities in the rapidly-expanding American offshore wind market.
Virginia Beach is in the vanguard of US offshore wind development. The first offshore wind farm in federal waters is 27 miles off the city’s shoreline and represents one of only two operational projects in the country today.
Now, additional areas being considered for development include not only fixed-bottom but also floating wind areas, another first for the American offshore wind industry and a validation of the vast potential for offshore wind near Virginia Beach.
Construction on the full-scale Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project is set to begin in 2024. Kitty Hawk Offshore is also set to begin erecting turbines at sea that same year.
These wind farms, which will be two of the largest in the United States upon completion, are much further along in the development process than most other offshore wind projects along the East Coast. They also happen to be located within a stone’s throw of Virginia Beach.
The opportunities available to offshore wind companies in Virginia Beach don’t stop here. There are currently five other wind farms at various phases of development situated in what the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) refers to as the Mid-Atlantic Planning Area.
In that same zone, which starts 20 miles offshore and extends as far north as Delaware and as far south as North Carolina, there are six new development zones or 'call areas' that were recently identified for development.
Virginia Beach is at the epicentre of the burgeoning US offshore wind sector. The city finds itself at a geographic advantage, surrounded by all these fully-commissioned, confirmed, and potential wind farms.
That is one of the reasons why Siemens Gamesa, a Spanish-German wind turbine company, chose to invest $200 million in the region to build the first US offshore wind turbine blade-manufacturing facility.
When completed, the company expects to produce blades for 100 turbines per year, enough to supply the CVOW project and eventually other projects along the entire East Coast.
It was the long-term demand for its product, given current and future offshore wind activity in the region and beyond, coupled with the infrastructure that is already in place that convinced Siemens Gamesa to locate near CVOW.
The Port of Virginia, which is in close proximity to Virginia Beach, was another strong selling point. The port offers deep-water access, no overhead obstructions and ample space for large wind infrastructure components. It is one of only two East Coast ports perfectly suited for offshore wind development.
Another factor that may have influenced Siemens Gamea’s decision to locate in the region is the support the company received from the Commonwealth of Virginia, which offered up to $17.1 million for infrastructure improvements and site preparation required for the construction of its facility.
Siemens Gamesa will also receive free assistance with recruitment and training through the Virginia Talent Accelerator Program. This is a prime example of how the public sector is eager to collaborate with the private sector to facilitate the expansion of the growing offshore wind hub in Virginia.
As for Virginia Beach, in addition to financial incentives, the Department of Economic Development offers assistance with market intelligence, site selection, workforce development and recruitment, and anything in between.
The team has extensive experience working with UK-based firms looking forward to entering the US market and establishing a presence in the city. The UK representative, Charles Macdowell, is located in Ipswich and is available for in-person meetings.
This year, the Virginia Beach team worked with a number of UK-based companies to ensure they would have a smooth and successful start in the City.
Correll Group, a leader in high voltage electrical engineering and the installation of land and subsea cables, is one of them. The company opened its US headquarters in Virginia Beach in April and the US general manager was also relocated from North Carolina to Virginia Beach.
“We chose Virginia Beach for our headquarters due to its strategic location at the midpoint of the United States East Coast and just three hours from Washington DC,” commented Sam Dowey, managing director of Correll Group.
“Virginia Beach Economic Development has greatly assisted in our understanding of the US market, and has helped us to gain access to market-specific networks, which in turn have helped in the establishment of a presence in that particular market.”
Correll Group was approved as a tenant of the International Incubator, a soft-landing spot reserved for qualifying international businesses that are new to Virginia Beach and need affordable space to grow their sales volume before establishing their own office or manufacturing facility in the city.
Companies looking to expand or relocate their operations in the United States and take advantage of the opportunities that will come as offshore wind farms continue
to develop along the East Coast are encouraged to contact the Virginia Beach Department of Economic Development. Services are free of charge and offered in absolute confidentiality.
For more information, visit www.yesvirginiabeach.com/ie or call +1-757-385-6464.
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