NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — The developer of an offshore wind project in Virginia is asking a federal judge to block a Trump administration order halting construction on its project and four others on national security grounds.
Virginia-based Dominion Energy said in a lawsuit filed late Tuesday that the administration’s order is “arbitrary and capricious” and unconstitutional. The Richmond-based company is developing offshore wind off the coast of Virginia, a project it says is critical to meeting surging energy demand driven by dozens of new data centers.
The Interior Ministry on Monday did not elaborate on the security considerations that blocked the five projects. In a letter to the project developer, the Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management set a 90-day deadline, possibly longer, “to determine whether the national security threats posed by the project can be adequately mitigated.”
Other projects include the Vineyard Wind project under construction in Massachusetts, the Revolution Wind project 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 hinder offshore wind in its push for renewable energy development.
Dominion’s project has been under construction since early 2024 and is scheduled to come online early next year, providing enough power for about 660,000 homes. The company said the delay was costing more than $5 million per day just for ships used for around-the-clock construction, a cost that would ultimately be borne by the customer or company.
Dominion called this week’s order “the latest in a series of irrational agency actions attacking offshore wind, doubling down when they are 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 has scheduled a hearing on Dominion’s request for a temporary restraining order Monday at 2 p.m.
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