Dominion Energy sues Trump administration over delay to $11.2B offshore wind project

A hearing on Dominion Energy’s request to block the Trump administration’s stop-work order on all offshore wind projects will be held in mid-January, a federal judge ruled.

The administration announced on Dec. 22 it was pausing leases and halting work on five major offshore wind projects under construction along the east coast, citing national security concerns identified by the Pentagon. These include complaints that the movement of massive turbine blades and the highly reflective towers that support them can interfere with radar used to locate security threats.

The Richmond-based utility’s Dec. 23 lawsuit seeks to block the order for its $11.2 billion Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project. It’s the largest of the five affected projects, all of which were expected to enter commercial operation over the next two years.

Dominion estimated CVOW would begin generating electricity in early 2026, with enough energy to power approximately 660,000 residences. In its lawsuit filed, the utility described the administration’s stop-work order as “arbitrary and capricious.”

The utility has already received all federal, state and local approvals necessary for the construction and operation of CVOW, spending approximately $8.9 billion to date, according to the lawsuit. Customers are contributing to these costs.

The lawsuit claims the pause is causing “serious, irreparable harm” to the utility and its customers.

“Our nation is governed by laws, and a stable legal and regulatory environment is essential to allow regulated public utilities … to invest and support our nation’s energy needs and associated jobs,” Dominion argued. “Sudden and baseless withdrawal of regulatory approvals by government officials cannot be reconciled with the predictability needed to support the exceptionally large capital investments required for large-scale energy development projects like CVOW critical to domestic energy security.”

U.S. District Court Judge Jamar Walker was earlier scheduled to hear the case Dec. 29, but granted the administration’s request to delay the hearing until January.

The judge ordered U.S. Department of Justice lawyers to get “classified information” regarding the stop-work order to him by Jan. 9. The hearing will now take place on Jan. 16.

Asked for comment on the ruling, Dominion spokesperson Jeremy Slayton said CVOW is essential to meeting customers’ needs.

“Delaying the project will lead to increased costs for customers and threaten long-term grid reliability,” Slayton said. “Given the project’s critical importance, we have a responsibility to pursue every available avenue to deliver the project as quickly and at the lowest cost possible on behalf of our customers and the stability of the overall grid.”

Taylor Rogers, a spokesperson for the White House, said Trump has been clear with describing wind energy as “the scam of the century.”

“For years, Americans have been forced to pay billions more for the least reliable source of energy,” Rogers said in a statement. “The Trump administration has paused the construction of all large-scale offshore wind projects because our number one priority is to put America First and protect the national security of the American people.”

Dominion Energy provides electricity to 3.6 million homes and businesses in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, and natural gas service to 500,000 customers in South Carolina, according to its website.

This story has been updated.