Judge Allows Virginia Offshore Wind Project to Restart in Another Setback for Trump
Judge Jamar Walker of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia issued an order that allows Dominion to restart construction on the $11.2 billion project while its lawsuit against Trump’s Interior Department proceeds.
Last week, offshore wind developers Orsted and Equinor won similar rulings from a U.S. court in Washington in their litigation over Interior’s December 22 suspension of five projects under construction in federal waters.
The government paused the projects due to what it said was new, classified information on risks to national security from radar interference.
At the hearing in Norfolk, Virginia, Walker said Interior’s stop-work order was too broad to address Dominion’s specific project and noted that the risks cited by the government pertained to wind farm operations and not construction.
The Interior Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling.
Dominion has already spent nearly $9 billion on the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, which is expected to provide enough energy to power 600,000 homes.
“Our team will now focus on safely restarting work to ensure CVOW begins delivery of critical energy in just weeks,” the company said in a statement. “While our legal challenge proceeds, we will continue seeking a durable resolution of this matter through cooperation with the federal government.”
The court decisions in these cases are high stakes for companies and their shareholders because they could allow the multi-billion-dollar projects to be completed, but underlying lawsuits and the administration’s aversion to offshore wind will continue to weigh on the sector.
Offshore wind developers have faced repeated disruptions under Trump, who says wind turbines are ugly, expensive and inefficient.
Northeastern states including New York, Massachusetts and Virginia are relying on offshore wind to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide needed electricity as power demand from data centers tied to artificial intelligence soars.
(Reporting by Blake Brittain in Norfolk, Virginia and Nichola Groom in Los Angeles; Editing by Chris Reese, Rod Nickel and Cynthia Osterman)
Top Photo: Norfolk, Virginia offshore wind farm. Dominion Energy photo.