US judge to weigh Dominion request to restart Virginia offshore wind project stopped by Trump

NORFOLK, Virginia, Jan 16 (Reuters) – A federal judge on Friday will consider whether to allow Dominion Energy to resume construction on its $11.2 billion Virginia offshore wind project in a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its suspension of the venture.

The hearing in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia will be the third time this week a federal court will weigh a challenge by an offshore wind developer to the Interior Department’s December 22 order.

Dominion’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind is one of five projects Trump’s Interior Department paused last month, citing classified information on risks to national security from radar interference.

Two companies, Denmark’s Orsted and Norway’s Equinor, were successful in winning temporary orders from federal judges in Washington allowing them to restart construction on projects in the U.S. Northeast.

They argued the pause violated federal laws of administrative procedure and due process, and would cause irreparable harm to their projects.

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 create uncertainty.

Offshore wind developers have faced repeated disruptions under Trump, who says wind turbines are ugly, expensive and inefficient.

Dominion has already spent nearly $9 billion on the project and stands to lose $5 million a day during the pause, it said in court filings.

The facility has been under construction since 2023 and is expected to provide enough energy to power 600,000 homes.

(Reporting by Blake Brittain in Norfolk, Virginia and Nichola Groom in Los Angeles; Editing by Chris Reese)