Energy Wonders of The World: Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW), The Largest Offshore Wind Project in The U.S.
Updated: Jun 29
The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project is a 2.6 GW utility-scale development consisting of 176 turbines, located 27 miles off Virginia Beach. In March 2026, the first commercial turbines began delivering power to the grid. Upon completion in 2027, it will be the largest offshore wind farm in the U.S. and just the fifth 2 GW+ power plant to start construction in the U.S. since 1990, securing its place as an Energy Wonder of The World.
To appreciate the energy density of CVOW, consider that matching its 9.5 TWh annual output with solar would require nearly 10 million panels covering 25,000 acres of land. (For context, the 1.9 million panels at the 875 MW Edwards Sanborn Project in California's Mojave Desert extend across 4,600 acres).
A Project Engineered To Support The Electricity Loads Of Data Center Alley
The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project holds a unique distinction: it is being built in the world’s largest data center hub. Of the roughly 600 hyperscale (100+ MW) data centers in the U.S., nearly 200 are located in Virginia, giving the state a 33% share and a larger digital footprint than any other US state, or any country on earth besides China.
Virginia is currently the only state where data centers already consume over 25% of total power generation. Now, a wave of newly announced "Gigascale" campuses is set to tighten the grid even further, driving a future pipeline that requires 10X more generation than the state's data centers use today.
While even a massive 2.6 GW project cannot meet all of these sprawling requirements, it plays an integral role in matching power with Virginia’s soaring energy demands. As regional generation capacity is squeezed and local electricity prices climb (up 10% between CY 2024 and 2025). CVOW’s 9.5 TWh of annual generation arrives at the perfect time to help support massive AI and cloud load growth.
To put this in perspective, data centers in Virginia consume roughly 24 TWh of energy today; CVOW adds offshore wind into the mixture of solutions, delivering a vital clean energy injection directly into the eye of the storm.
Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Anchored To Virginia's Global Data Center Industry
The 13-year span from the initial 2013 lease rights to first power in March 2026 illustrates the long timeline required for the gigascale infrastructure that is increasingly being sought. Notably, Virginia’s concentration of hyperscale data centers has fundamentally insulated the economics of what is possible; the data centers' insatiable demand for carbon-free energy provides the long-term load certainty that helped the project move forward, even as other offshore wind projects across the U.S. and world have completely stalled.
The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project is a demonstrative example of matching American technology and energy ambition in the 21st century.
Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind | Project Facts |
Nameplate Capacity | 2.6 GW |
Completion Date | 2027 |
Total Project Costs | $11.5B |
Development Time | 13 Years |
Location | 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach (Federal Waters); situated less than 50 miles from Naval Station Norfolk (the world's largest naval base). |
Annual Power | 9.5 TWh (equivalent to power needs of ~ 700K households) |
Data Center Power Consumption (VA) | 24 TWh (as of 2026), Projects in pipeline represent 10X this usage. |
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