As Virginia moves to transform its electric grid to carbon-free, renewable energy in the face of climate change, it’s creating enormous opportunities for businesses big and small.

“When you’re transforming the grid, you’re making big changes. It takes a lot of work to get that done and you need qualified people to do that work,” says Rawlings, who anticipates that grid transformation will likely result in contracts and job creation for small businesses like his.

The complexity of planning, permitting and building giant wind turbines 25 miles out in the ocean means Virginia needs to start planning the next project now to ensure that the supply chain businesses that have located here, and the workers we are training to build CVOW, still have reason to remain in Virginia come 2027.

The Hampton Roads Alliance and the cities of Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach, in a partnership with Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center, are creating a $6.5 million green hydrogen fuel program to help kick-start a local industry. The project includes plans for three to five transition projects, a demonstration and education site and a workforce training program. The project ties in nicely with the region’s burgeoning offshore wind industry, said Matt Smith, the Alliance’s Director of Energy and Water Technology.

Dominion Energy has signed a four-year contract with K2 Management for Quality Oversight services for the 2.6 GW CVOW project in the United States. The Denmark-headquartered company will serve as Dominion Energy’s Owner’s Quality Assurance Representative.

Think bigger - That was the message to the largest turnout yet of the leading annual gathering of global offshore wind energy professionals late last month in Baltimore—delivered to an estimated 4,000 attendees at the Business Network for Offshore Wind's partnering forum as the US industry struggles to move the 40 projects in development past their current permitting, financial, labor and supply chain hurdles.

Imagine, for a moment, driving through the streets of a major metropolis without the aid of a GPS. Visualizing this experience may evoke frenzied images of difficult one-way streets, countless dead ends, and an overwhelming amount of traffic. Unfortunately, our oceans are following a similar path.