Virginia utility Dominion Energy will pay nearly $1 million to offset the impacts to coastal views from its 176-turbine offshore wind farm in Virginia Beach.
The company will pay the city $290,000 for visual impacts. Virginia Beach’s City Council voted earlier this week to use the money for historical preservation projects. Separately, the Richmond, Virginia, power company will pay $650,000 to the first Cape Henry Lighthouse on the Virginia coast, also for visual impacts. The Dominion payments were first reported by The Virginian-Pilot.
Dominion is also contributing $550,000 to the Currituck Beach Lighthouse in North Carolina.
Dominion spokesperson Jeremy Slayton noted that the offshore wind project area begins 27 miles from shore and extends an additional 15 miles into the ocean.
