Dominion Energy will begin installing the 12MW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) "in the coming weeks", according to CEO Thomas Farrell.
The $300m demonstration project, off Virginia Beach, is being co-developed by Danish offshore wind leader Ørsted.
It is expected online in December 2020 and will consist of two Siemens Gamesa SWT-6.0-154 turbines.
CVOW will be the first offshore wind project in the US to be owned by an electric utility.
It will be sited 35km from the shore and in the potential path of hurricanes.
Dominion has also leased a 112,800-acre site adjacent to CVOW's from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) with the potential for a 2GW wind project.
Only one offshore project has so far been developed in the US, the 30MW Block Island, off Rhode Island.
Block Island was developed by Deepwater Wind, which has since been bought by Ørsted.
The most advanced large-scale offshore wind project in the US is the two-phase 800MW Vineyard Wind off Massachusetts, to start onshore construction in 2019, with the first phase expected online in 2022.
