Dominion Power’s wind generators situated 27 miles off of Virginia Seashore within the Atlantic Ocean on July 17, 2023.
Kendall Warner | Virginian Pilot | Getty Photos
The Trump administration on Monday halted Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, the biggest undertaking of its sort within the U.S., in addition to 4 different initiatives off the East Coast in a devastating blow to the wind business.
Shares of Dominion Power, the utility creating the undertaking, dropped greater than 5% on the information.
The administration additionally paused leases for Winery Wind 1 off Massachusetts, Revolution Wind off Rhode Island, Dawn Wind off Lengthy Island and New England, and Empire Wind 1 south of Lengthy Island.
Inside Secretary Doug Burgum stated the administration paused leases for the initiatives because of nationwide safety issues recognized by the Pentagon.
Shares of Denmark’s Orsted, the developer of the Revolution and Dawn initiatives, tumbled 11%. Norway’s Equinor, the developer of Empire Wind 1, was down lower than 1%.
Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind is a 176 turbine undertaking undertaking that would supply sufficient energy for greater than 600,000 houses, in line with Dominion. The undertaking was anticipated to be full subsequent 12 months.
Dominion stated the huge undertaking is important for U.S. nationwide safety and Virginia’s dramatically rising power wants. Northern Virginia is the biggest hub for information facilities on this planet. Rising demand from synthetic intelligence is contributing to increased electrical energy costs within the state.
“Stopping CVOW for any size of time will threaten grid reliability for a few of the nation’s most necessary conflict preventing, AI, and civilian property,” Dominion stated in an announcement.
“It should additionally result in power inflation and threaten 1000’s of jobs,” the utility stated.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, helps the undertaking. Incoming Gov. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, gained the gubernatorial election in November on a promise to handle rising electrical energy prices partially by increasing renewable power.
The Inside Division stated in an announcement that the pause will give the federal authorities time to “work with leaseholders and state companions to evaluate the potential for mitigating the nationwide safety dangers posed by these initiatives.”
Inside stated the U.S. authorities discovered that turbine blades and “extremely reflective towers” create radar interference threat.
“The litter attributable to offshore wind initiatives obscures official shifting targets and generates false targets within the neighborhood of the wind initiatives,” Inside stated.
President Donald Trump has focused the U.S. wind business since his first day in workplace. Trump on Jan. 20 ordered a halt to all new leases and permits for onshore and offshore wind pending federal evaluation.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., condemned Trump’s marketing campaign in opposition to wind initiatives as “irrational.” The senate minority chief stated Inside’s determination would spike power payments.
“Trump’s obsession with killing offshore wind initiatives is unhinged, irrational, and unjustified,” Schumer stated in an announcement Monday. “At a time of hovering power prices, this newest determination from DOI is a backwards step that can drive power payments even increased.”
Trump’s marketing campaign in opposition to the wind business has run afoul of the courts. Decide Patti Saris of the U.S. District Court docket for the District of Massachusetts dominated on Dec. 8 that Trump’s order was “arbitrary and capricious and opposite to legislation.”
