VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Dominion Energy is under fire from homeowners in one Virginia Beach neighborhood as residents say all the trees the company has taken down as part of its offshore wind project has put their homes in danger.
Right behind John Rooney’s property line in the Pine Ridge neighborhood, Dominion Energy has cleared a 140-foot wide strip of trees to make way for power lines that will carry power from the offshore wind turbines to a substation in Chesapeake.
Rooney said that without the large grouping of trees, the smaller ones left on his property are at risk of being blown over in a strong storm. He said he and about six or seven other houses along his street have the same concern.
“Having all these trees taken down after 25 years living here is a shock,” Rooney said. “And now, we do have this wind tunnel with the absence of all these trees. Our concern is, you don’t think it’s a problem for the wires, but we think they’re a problem for our homes.”
Super Doppler 10 Meteorologist Jeremy Wheeler said it’s a valid concern.
“So when you have a group of trees out there, you got a cluster, usually there is a kind of a wind blockage,” Wheeler said, “but when you make, especially, a row of no trees … you can create a wind-tunnel effect. When you lose the cluster, you’re losing that blockage on the outer part of it and you’ve got a thinner line, so that could help to enhance damage, possibly, in a big thunderstorm.”
Dominion is talking with the city of Virginia Beach to find a solution.
The company said homeowners can pay to have the other trees taken down by licensed and bonded contractors, but Dominion discourages it. They also say Rooney can plant smaller vegetation if he asks permission first, but for now, Rooney said he’ll deal with any issues as they come.
