Dominion Energy’s wind turbines located 27 miles off of Virginia Beach in the Atlantic Ocean on July 17, 2023.
Kendall Warner | Virginian Pilot | Getty Images
The Trump administration on Monday halted Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, the largest project of its kind in the U.S., as well as four other projects off the East Coast in a devastating blow to the wind industry.
Shares of Dominion Energy, the utility developing the project, dropped more than 4% on the news.
The administration also paused leases for Vineyard Wind 1 off Massachusetts, Revolution Wind off Rhode Island, Sunrise Wind off Long Island and New England, and Empire Wind 1 south of Long Island.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the administration paused leases for the projects due to national security concerns identified by the Pentagon.
Shares of Denmark’s Orsted, the developer of the Revolution and Sunrise projects, tumbled 11%. Norway’s Equinor, the developer of Empire Wind 1, was down less than 1%.
Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind is a 176 turbine project project that would provide enough power for more than 600,000 homes, according to Dominion. The project was expected to be complete next year.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, supports the project. Incoming Gov. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, won the gubernatorial election in November on a promise to address rising electricity costs in part by expanding renewable energy.
The Interior Department said in a statement that the pause will give the federal government time to “work with leaseholders and state partners to assess the possibility of mitigating the national security risks posed by these projects.”
Interior said the U.S. government found that turbine blades and “highly reflective towers” create radar interference risk.
