US OKs $47m for wind turbines off Va. coast

STEVE SZKOTAK
Associated Press

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Dominion Virginia Power is receiving up to $47 million from the U.S. Energy Department to help pay for the construction of two offshore wind turbines.

Announced Wednesday, the funding over the next four years will finance the construction of two 6-megawatt wind turbines for a so-called demonstration project. They will produce enough electricity to power up to 3,000 homes.

The DOE says the turbines will be sited 26 miles off the coast. They will use a twisted jacked foundation intended to test turbines in harsh offshore conditions such as hurricanes.

Dominion holds the lease on a vast tract of ocean bottom about 25 miles off the coast for the development of wind energy.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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