The Permitting Council (Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council) is pleased to announce that Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind is the latest project to complete its required federal environmental permitting review and authorizations with permitting assistance from the Council. The $9.8 billion renewable energy project is expected to power up to 660,000 homes.
“Offshore wind energy is a cornerstone of the Permitting Council portfolio, representing nearly half of the projects currently receiving permitting assistance from our agency,” said Eric Beightel, Permitting Council Executive Director. “These final approvals for the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project represent a significant milestone in our work, as it is the largest offshore wind energy project in U.S. history, helping to lead the way to a clean energy future nationwide.”
Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind is a 2.6 gigawatt offshore wind project that will consist of 176 wind turbines 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. Expected to create 900 direct and indirect Virginia jobs annually during construction, project sponsors anticipate that it will avoid carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to removing more than 1 million cars off the road each year.
The project began receiving permitting assistance from the Permitting Council in February of 2021, reaching the conclusion of the process in just over three years. It now joins Empire Wind Energy, Revolution Wind Farm and South Fork Wind Farm as completed FAST-41 covered offshore wind projects.
Established in 2015 by Title 41 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST-41) and made permanent in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Permitting Council is a unique federal agency charged with improving the transparency and predictability of the federal environmental review and authorization process for certain critical infrastructure projects.
The Permitting Council coordinates federal environmental reviews and authorizations for projects that seek and qualify for FAST-41 coverage. FAST-41 covered projects are entitled to comprehensive permitting timetables and transparent, collaborative management of those timetables on the Federal Permitting Dashboard.
