Virginia could make almost $5B from this 3.5 GW offshore wind farm
Avangrid’s 3.5 gigawatt (GW) Kitty Hawk Wind could deliver around $5 billion in economic impact across Virginia – here’s where the project stands.
The 180-turbine Kitty Hawk Wind is an offshore wind project proposed in federal waters over 36 miles from Virginia Beach. It will be capable of generating enough renewable power for more than 1 million homes and businesses annually and reduce emissions by more than 1.5 million metric tons – equivalent to taking 500,000 cars off the road annually.
Kitty Hawk Wind would deliver about $4.8 billion in economic impact across Virginia, including $1.2 billion and 2,401 jobs in the City of Virginia Beach over 40 years, according to Avangrid’s just-released “Kitty Hawk Wind: Economic & Fiscal Impact” report.
Kitty Hawk Wind’s development, construction, and operations would deliver approximately $4 billion in investment to the Hampton Roads region, which is equipped to provide critical offshore wind services due to its existing port infrastructure and maritime workforce. (Hampton Roads is the Virginia Beach–Norfolk–Newport News, VA–NC metropolitan region.)
Avangrid estimates that Kitty Hawk would create more than 12,000 jobs in Virginia, 9,500 of which would be located within Hampton Roads.
Kitty Hawk Wind’s power grid interconnection would bring in $275 million in cumulative property tax revenue for its host, the City of Virginia Beach. It would average about $7 million annually over 40 years through Kitty Hawk’s development, construction, and operation. That money could be used to support critical municipal services and invest in capital projects in the community.
At the end of 2023, local media reported that Virginia Beach leaders opposed Avangrid’s cable site landing location at Sandbridge Beach for the usual reasons – property value impact, tourism, etc. Avangrid can either try to change city leaders’ minds, as it hasn’t been officially voted down, or find an alternate interconnection location.
“Energy supply in the region is critical to maintaining and growing the economy,” said Hampton Roads Chamber CEO and president Bryan Stephens. “The Kitty Hawk Wind Project has the potential to supply our growing energy needs, provide new tax revenue to the City of Virginia Beach, and help the state meet the clean energy goals of 100% renewable electricity supply by 2045.”
And Virginia Maritime Association executive director David White said that the “opportunity presented by the Kitty Hawk Wind project for our industry and the community must not be allowed to slip away.”
The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) awarded Kitty Hawk Wind the 122,405-acre lease in 2017 to develop an offshore wind project off the coast of North Carolina and Virginia. However, Avangrid doesn’t have a customer yet for Kitty Hawk’s power and hasn’t started the full application process with BOEM.
Read more: Florida has no wind turbines but it’s going to ban them anyway
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Environment
Baidu- and Geely-backed JiYue brand unveils ROBO X EV that goes 0-100 km/h in under 1.9 sec
JiYue, a Chinese EV brand focused on delivering all-electric “robocars” to the masses, has unveiled its latest model, and it’s quite a deviation from its previous EVs—but in the best way. Earlier today, JiYue launched the ROBO X supercar, designed for high-speed racing. By high speed, we mean 0-100 km/h acceleration in under 1.9 seconds. My mouth is watering.
JiYue has only existed since 2021, when parent tech company Baidu announced it was expanding from software development into physical EV production, joining forces with multinational automotive manufacturer Geely.
The new “robotic EV” marque initially launched as JIDU with $300 million in startup capital before garnering an additional $400 million in Series A funding, led by Baidu, in January 2022.
In August 2023, Geely took on a larger role in JIDU alongside a greater financial stake as the brand reimagined itself as JiYue, inheriting the JIDU logo and its flagship model, the 01 ROBOCAR.
In December 2023, Baidu and Geely unveiled a second model called the JiYue 07. It was born from JIDU’s ROBO-02 concept, which debuted in 2023 and was designed to compete against the Tesla Model 3 in China.
The 07 finally launched in China earlier this year with 545 miles of range. With an all-electric SUV and sedan on the market, JiYue has unveiled an exciting new entry in the form of a performance supercar called the ROBO X. Check it out:
JiYue’s new ROBO X EV is available for pre-order now
JiYue showcased its new ROBO X hypercar in front of the crowd at the 2024 Guangzhou Auto Show earlier today. Similar to previous models but with a unique spin, JiYue described the ROBO X as an AI smart-driving supercar that, for the first time, blends artificial intelligence and autonomous driving into a high-performance, race-ready EV.
When we say “high performance,” we mean a quad motor liquid-cooled drive system that can propel the ROBO X from 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) in under 1.9 seconds. JiYue called the new ROBO X a “performance beast” with “the perfect balance of excellent aerodynamic performance and high downforce.” JiYue CEO Joe Xia was even bolder in his statements about the ROBO X:
For the next 20 years, the design of supercars will bear the shadow of Robo X. This is the best design in the history of Chinese automobiles today, and it is a landmark presence.
Fighter-style airflow ducts bolster the EV’s aerodynamics, efficiency, and overall posture. Per JiYue, the two-seater ROBO X is expected to deliver a maximum range of over 650 km (404 miles).
The new supercar features falcon-wing doors, a carbon fiber integrated frame, and a professional racing HALO safety system offering 360° of support. The interior features an AI smart cockpit with SIMO real-time feedback to give drivers an immersive racing experience.
Furthermore, JiYue said the vehicle will utilize parent company Baidu’s Apollo self-driving technology, which could make it the first electric supercar to apply pure-vision ADAS technology that enables track-level autonomous driving.
Following today’s unveiling of the ROBO X, JiYue has officially opened up pre-orders in China for RMB 49,999 ($6,915). That said, reservation holders will need to be patient as JiYue shared that it doesn’t expect to begin mass production of the ROBO X until 2027.
What do you think? Will people be talking about the ROBO X for the next 20 years?
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This week on Electrek’s Wheel-E podcast, we discuss the most popular news stories from the world of electric bikes and other nontraditional electric vehicles. This time, that includes the launch of the Lectric XPedition 2.0, Yamaha e-bikes pulling out of North America, LiveWire unveils an electric scooter concept, PNY readying its cargo e-scooters for pilot testing, Royal Enfield’s first electric motorcycle, and more.
The Wheel-E podcast returns every two weeks on Electrek’s YouTube channel, Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter.
As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.
After the show ends, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:
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Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the Wheel-E podcast today:
Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 9:30 a.m. ET (or the video after 10:30 a.m. ET):
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Crude oil futures were on pace Friday for loss for the week, as a supply gut and a strong dollar depresses the market.
U.S. crude oil is down more than 2% this week, while Brent has shed nearly 2%.
Here are Friday’s energy prices:
- West Texas Intermediate December contract: $68.56 per barrel, down 14 cents, or 0.2%. Year to date, U.S. crude oil has shed about 4%.
- Brent January contract: $72.36 per barrel, down 20 cents, or 0.28%. Year to date, the global benchmark has lost nearly 6%.
- RBOB Gasoline December contract: $1.99 per gallon, up 0.46%. Year to date, gasoline has fallen more than 1%.
- Natural Gas December contract: $2.70 per thousand cubic feet, down 2.98%. Year to date, gas has gained more than 4%.
The International Energy Agency has forecast a surplus of more than 1 million barrels per day in 2025 on robust production in the U.S. OPEC revised down its demand forecast for the fourth consecutive month as demand in China remains soft.
A strong dollar also hangs over the market, as the greenback has surged in the wake of President-elect Donald Trump’s election victory.
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