Dominion Energy said on October 30, 2026, that its 2.6-gigawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project is about 85% complete, with 44 of 176 turbines installed. On its third-quarter earnings call, the utility kept its $11.65 billion budget and end-of-2027 completion target.
Key points
- Dominion has installed 44 turbines, representing more than 640 megawatts, out of 176 planned; work on the 45th was underway on October 30, 2026.
- The capital budget remains $11.65 billion, including $123 million of unused contingency, according to CEO Robert Blue.
- Dominion says average installation time fell from 69 hours per turbine for the first 10 to 38 hours for the most recent nine.
- The company expects to energize the third and final offshore substation by the end of 2026 and finish the project by the end of 2027.
- Dominion’s 2026 resource plan update adds or accelerates 4 GW of solar and 2 GW of battery storage compared with last year’s preferred plan.
Where Virginia offshore wind construction stands
Blue told analysts that fabrication of all nacelles, towers and blades is now complete. On the previous earnings call on July 31, 2026, he reported the project at 81% complete, with 31 turbines installed and more than 450 megawatts of capacity.
According to Blue, the first 10 turbines took an average of 69 hours each to install, the next 25 averaged 45 hours, and the most recent nine averaged 38 hours.
Blue said installation in September and October came in below plan because of weather and maintenance on Charybdis, the vessel installing the turbines. He said those impacts fell within the risks the company planned for when it added schedule contingency last quarter. Part of that contingency has been used, but the outlook has not changed, he said.
Chief Financial Officer Steven Ridge said about 425 calendar days remain to install the last 132 turbines. After installation time and port trips, that leaves roughly 30 to 95 days of buffer for weather, maintenance and difficult locations, by his estimate.
| Milestone | July 31, 2026 | October 30, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Share complete | About 81% | About 85% |
| Turbines installed | 31 | 44 of 176 |
| Capital budget | — | $11.65 billion |
Cost estimate and customer bills
Ridge said the project’s levelized cost of energy remains well below the statutory threshold and the range in Dominion’s original filing. Asked about a recent drop in that estimate, he pointed to a tighter market for renewable energy credits; Dominion credits revenue from selling the project’s credits against its cost. Blue said the wind farm should save customers about $5 billion in fuel costs over its first 10 years; that is the company’s own estimate.
Dominion also kept its 2026 operating earnings guidance and said it expects results in the top half of its $3.45 to $3.69 per share range, according to its third-quarter results release.
Why it matters
Dominion says the finished project will generate enough electricity to power up to 660,000 homes, according to a January 2026 company release. On the October call, the company also said it has over 54 GW of data center capacity in various stages of contracting, including over 12 GW under electric service agreements. It has added over 6 GW of those contracts since the end of 2025.
Storage is the other part of the plan. In April 2026, Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed a law requiring Dominion to seek approval for 16 GW of short-duration storage by 2045, including 4 GW by the end of 2030, ESS News reports. Dominion’s resource plan, filed on October 15, 2026, models about 3.5 GW of battery additions over 20 years, alongside about 21 GW of solar and 8.9 GW of new gas generation. Ridge said each gigawatt of storage represents roughly $2.5 billion to $3 billion of investment opportunity for the company.
For background on the technology and its trade-offs, see our overview of wind energy pros and cons and our guide to how much a wind turbine costs.
Other perspectives
The Southern Environmental Law Center criticized Dominion’s resource plan in an October 16 statement. The group says the preferred plan’s nearly 9 GW of new gas plants would push the utility’s carbon dioxide emissions from about 22 million to 47 million tons a year by 2046. It also argues that the plan’s storage falls far short of what the new state law requires. “Virginians deserve better,” said Grayson Holmes, a senior attorney at the group, who argued that customers would bear the fuel and plant costs.
What’s next
- Dominion expects the third offshore substation to be energized by the end of 2026.
- The remaining 132 turbines are scheduled to be installed by the end of 2027.
- Dominion’s proposed merger with NextEra Energy has shareholder approval but still needs regulatory approval, ESS News reports.
Sources
- Dominion Energy (D) Q3 2026 earnings call transcript — Dominion Energy via The Motley Fool, October 30, 2026
- Dominion Energy Announces Third-Quarter 2026 Results — Dominion Energy, October 30, 2026
- Customers deserve better than Dominion’s dirty energy vision — Southern Environmental Law Center, October 16, 2026
- Dominion Energy Q2 2026 earnings call transcript — Dominion Energy via Bullfincher, July 31, 2026
- U.S. District Court grants preliminary injunction allowing Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project to resume work — Dominion Energy via Business Wire, January 16, 2026
- Virginia wants 16 GW of storage, Dominion’s latest published plan offers 3.5 GW — ESS News, October 21, 2026
