A Lynchburg firm best known for its nuclear power plants just might be interested in developing wind power off the Virginia coast. That was the news last week from a meeting of Virginia’s Manufacturing Development Commission, which met at Areva’s offices on Old Forest Road.
The potential for a wind energy project off the coast could benefit the state in two ways. First, the wind farm would add to the state’s alternative sources of power generation, which would reduce the state’s and the nation’s dependence on foreign oil. Second, it could generate as many as 8,000 manufacturing and construction jobs in the state.
Sen. Frank Wagner, R-Virginia Beach, told the commission he wants to clear the way for offshore wind energy projects in the state. He presented a draft of a bill that would create a state agency to coordinate such offshore wind farms.
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While Areva is far better known for manufacturing nuclear power plant components that span the world, the firm is keeping abreast of wind power developments as well. Kim Stein, Areva’s wind business development director, told the commission that Areva would like to build wind turbines in the state. He said that building and installing the structures could create at least 8,000 jobs in the state.
Two years ago, Areva bought a firm that designs and manufactures wind turbines in Germany and has developed a plant there. “Two years from now,” Stein said, “it’s going to be a $2-billion-a-year manufacturing facility.”
In the meantime, Areva is completing installation of six wind turbines that stand 400 feet tall in the North Sea off the northern coast of Germany.
Stein said the firm has begun a study of manufacturing offshore wind components in the United States, and would like to start a manufacturing plant in Virginia. That depends, he added, on finding customers who want to develop offshore wind farms.
While the commission did not discuss potential locations, Wagner said the turbines and their towers are so large they need to be built near the coast. He believes that Virginia could be a prime location for such a manufacturing facility.
The senator also indicated that sufficient winds on the Virginia coast could be harnessed for energy. He added that the only electrical substation between Savannah, Ga., and New York with the capacity to receive huge amounts of power from a wind farm is in Virginia Beach.
Wagner’s proposed new state agency would be known as the Virginia Offshore Wind Project Development Commission. He says it’s necessary to coordinate projects between the public and private entities involved. The agency would also work on infrastructure to connect wind energy to the electricity grid.
While much work remains before the first watt of electricity is produced from offshore wind turbines to power Virginia homes and businesses, the potential is well worth pursuing. That the project envisioned by Areva could generate some 8,000 manufacturing and construction jobs would come as a huge boost to the economy of not only Hampton Roads, but also the state.
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