The Project
The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) pilot project put the first wind turbines in U.S. federal waters: two Siemens Gamesa 6MW units standing 27 miles off Virginia Beach. Developed jointly by Ørsted and Dominion Energy — with Ørsted leading offshore engineering, procurement, and construction — the 12MW pilot proved the concept for Dominion's 2.6GW commercial build-out now rising in the same Atlantic waters.
Lyfted Media was brought in to document the installation from the air. Confirmed client work for Ørsted and Dominion Energy.
The Challenge
Offshore wind installation is one of the hardest environments a drone will ever fly in. Constant wind. Salt air. A jack-up vessel the size of a city block lifting multi-ton turbine components with zero tolerance for interference. No runway, no second chances: our crew hand-launched off a moving tugboat deck to stay tight to the work.
Every flight had to be coordinated around live heavy-lift operations, and every shot had exactly one window. Sunrise doesn't wait. An installation schedule doesn't wait. And nothing about a working vessel deck is forgiving to an aircraft.
What Lyfted Media Did
Lyfted Media, based in Virginia Beach, ran a full offshore aerial unit. Beach-based operations tracked the installation vessel on the horizon. Boat-based launches kept the drone close to the turbine work. Dawn flights delivered the hero aerials: turbines turning at sunrise, and the VOLE AU VENT — Jan De Nul's jack-up installation vessel — silhouetted at dusk.
Our crew is GWO safety certified for offshore wind environments and Part 107 certified, and we briefed into the marine operations plan like any other contractor on the water. Industrial documentation only works when the film crew operates with the same discipline as the engineers.
The Result
Cinema-grade aerial documentation of a first-of-its-kind American energy project — the installation that proved offshore wind could be built in U.S. federal waters. The footage captures a scale no ground camera can touch: 6MW turbines rising out of the Atlantic, the vessel that put them there, and the crews doing the work.
Work With Us
Building offshore — or documenting anything that doesn't sit still? Lyfted Media flies industrial and energy projects across the coast: turbine installation, vessel operations, and infrastructure documentation, delivered by a crew certified for the environment. Contact us about aerial documentation for your next installation.