The U.S. government signaled that it will review previously issued approvals for Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia offshore wind project, the first indication that even wind projects with all their permits already will have to fend off the Trump effect.
On his first day in office, Donald Trump issued a sweeping executive order targeting the offshore wind industry that requested the Interior Department, in consultation with the Justice Department, to conduct “a comprehensive review of the ecological, economic, and environmental necessity of terminating or amending any existing wind energy leases, identifying any legal bases for such removal.”
We now have our first indication that this review is in fact happening: On January 29, the Interior Department and the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow — an anti-renewables organization suing to kill the Coastal Virginia project — together requested through legal representatives that a federal judge delay (or in legal parlance, enlarge) the briefing schedule for a lawsuit CFACT had filed to kill the Coastal Virginia offshore wind project.
The filing cited Trump’s executive order, noting that “among other things,” it directed “the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a review of existing offshore wind leases.”
“In light of these developments, CFACT and Federal Defendants respectfully move to enlarge the briefing schedule in this case,” the filing stated, adding that the regulatory offices overseeing the relevant approvals “are under new leadership, who require time to become familiar with the issues presented by this litigation and the Presidential Memorandum and to determine how they wish to proceed.”
CFACT filed the lawsuit against Dominion last year alongside the Heartland Institute and the National Legal and Policy Center, a conservative legal nonprofit, claiming that the government had erred in its analysis of how the 2.6 gigawatt offshore wind project would affect the endangered North Atlantic right whale.
It’s unclear whether the Trump administration is citing the executive order because it will actually review leases Dominion holds for Coastal Virginia or if this is a portal to other kinds of reviews. CFACT’s lawsuit does not ask for any change to the leases, but instead seeks to undo the final permits and a letter from the federal government authorizing construction.
This quiet legal filing yet further indication that the federal backlash to offshore wind is paralyzing the U.S. permitting regime. Heatmap reported last week that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which handles offshore wind approvals, appears to be winding down even procedural, pre-decisional staff activity that would let developers progress forward under Trump, even if at a snail’s pace.
I asked the Interior Department if this means the agency is reviewing previous approvals for offshore wind projects, but spokesperson J. Elizabeth Peace told me that “Department policy is to not comment on pending litigation.”
Dominion said in a press release last week that Coastal Virginia was now “approximately 50% complete” and “remains on track for on-time completion” by the end of 2026. I asked Dominion if this means anything changes for Coastal Virginia. Dominion spokesperson Jeremy Slayton told me the company remains "confident" the project will "be completed on-time” late next year.
We’ll bring you an update if CFACT gets back to us about this filing. And believe that I’ll be tuning in to Dominion’s earnings call tomorrow.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include a comment from Dominion Energy.
