NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Developers of an offshore wind project in Virginia are asking a federal judge to block a Trump administration order that halted construction of their project, as well as four others, on national security grounds.
In its lawsuit filed late Tuesday, Dominion Energy Virginia said the government's regulation is “arbitrary, capricious” and unconstitutional. The Richmond-based company is developing the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, which it says is needed to meet soaring energy demands caused by dozens of new data centers.
The Interior Ministry did not specify the reasons for blocking the five projects on Monday. In a letter to project developers, the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management set a 90-day period — and possibly longer — “to determine whether the national security threats posed by this project can be adequately mitigated.”
Other projects include the Vineyard Wind project under construction in Massachusetts, Revolution Wind in Rhode Island and Connecticut, and two projects in New York: Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind. Democratic governors in those states have vowed to fight the order, the latest move by the Trump administration to restrict offshore wind power in its fight against renewable energy.
The Dominion project has been under construction since early 2024 and was expected to come online early next year, providing enough energy to power about 660,000 homes. The company said the delay was costing it more than $5 million per day in losses solely for vessels used in 24-hour construction, and that the costs would ultimately be borne by customers or the company.
Dominion called this week's order “the latest in a series of irrational actions by the agency that targeted offshore wind farms and then redoubled their efforts when those actions were found to be illegal.”
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
U.S. District Judge Jamar Walker scheduled a hearing for 2 p.m. Monday on Dominion's request for a temporary restraining order.
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