KITTY HAWK OFFSHORE WIND
Location: Off the coasts of Virginia and North Carolina
Project Timeline: Avangrid Renewables was awarded a 122,405-acre lease area by the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in 2017. Assuming the project secures all necessary permits, approvals, and an offtake agreement, it could achieve commercial operation in 2026.
Number of Offshore Wind Turbines: To be determined based on a series of geophysical and geotechnical survey initiatives
Energy Production: The Wind Energy Area is estimated to have a capacity of up to 2,500MW, enough to power about 700,000 homes.
Owner: Avangrid Renewables
In 2020, the Commonwealth of Virginia passed clean energy legislation requiring 5.2 GW of offshore wind by 2035. In addition, both of Virginia’s and North Carolina’s largest utilities — Dominion Energy and Duke Energy — have net-zero carbon goals by 2050.
“Many utilities that serve the regions adjacent to the Kitty Hawk Offshore Wind project have aggressive carbon reduction goals,” says Megan Higgins, senior director, Offshore Business Development for Avangrid Renewables. “We believe that offshore wind is a technology that will be critical to meeting these goals.”
Higgins says Avangrid Renewables is proud to take a leadership role in the growing U.S. commercial offshore wind industry. For the Kitty Hawk Offshore Wind project, and projects with its joint venture, Vineyard Wind, Avangrid Renewables brings experience gained through its global offshore wind team under its parent company, Iberdrola. As such, the company will be able to develop and operate offshore wind projects and help customers achieve their carbon reduction goals.
Kitty Hawk Offshore Wind will be located in a lease area more than 27 miles from the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management selected the site after a comprehensive, multi-year review with stakeholder participation from maritime industries, fishing interests, and military and environmental organizations to identify lease areas suitable for offshore wind development.
As of July 2020, Kitty Hawk has completed two of the three studies it must undertake with the grid operator — PJM Interconnection, LLC — before it can interconnect to the grid. These studies and the final interconnection agreement will identify what, if any, transmission system upgrades are required to ensure that the project can reliably deliver its power to the electricity grid.
While the project is still in the development phase, the preferred cable route to the shore and substation locations have already been identified. When all phases of the projected are completed, the project will generate about 2,500MW and serve customers in vertically integrated utility markets.
While the specific operation and construction plans for the project have not yet been finalized, the Kitty Hawk Offshore Wind project will drive significant economic activity both in the supply chain and at nearby ports both during construction and once operational.
“Working in the region over the past 14 years, we’ve recognized the incredible potential for offshore wind which led us to explore opportunities,” Higgins says. “Other Avangrid Renewables projects in the region have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the region’s economy with significant tax revenues supporting public interests such as schools, public safety, and infrastructure.”
