Judge Says Dominion Energy Can Resume Wind Project US Halted

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(Bloomberg) — Dominion Energy Inc. can restart construction of a wind project off the coast of Virginia while it continues a legal fight over the Trump administration’s order to stop the $11 billion development, a federal judge ruled. 

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US District Judge Jamar Walker in Norfolk, Virginia, issued a preliminary injunction Friday. It blocks the government from enforcing its stop-work order after Dominion claimed it was suffering irreparable harm and losing millions of dollars every day the project sits idle. Walker is the third federal judge this week to allow a halted wind development to resume construction.

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The Virginia unit of Dominion Energy is among several companies suing the US Department of the Interior over a Dec. 22 order suspending five East Coast wind projects for 90 days over unspecified national security concerns. But the developers sued, with some winning temporary reprieves. Earlier this week, a federal judge ruled Norway’s Orsted A/S can resume development of its project off Rhode Island while its lawsuit proceeds and a different judge issued a similar ruling for Equinor ASA’s Empire Wind project near New York.

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The Virginia judge echoed concerns expressed in the other cases. Walker, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, said the government had failed to demonstrate that the “national security risk is so imminent” that the Dominion project should be halted. He added that department’s order was likely arbitrary and capricious and that further delays would cause irreparable harm to the company.

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The White House didn’t immediately comment on the decision.

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Dominion shares rose 0.6% after the ruling to touch an intraday high of $61.50.

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President Donald Trump has sought to aggressively thwart the growth of the industry as he rolls back Biden-era climate policies and champions fossil fuels. This latest move also comes after Trump froze permitting for all wind projects on federal land and oceans on his first day back in office, though a federal judge ruled that his decree was illegal. 

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The US offshore wind industry has faced other difficulties, including soaring inflation and supply chain snarls in recent years. And even after some of those problems subsided, developers have since been hit by rising costs from Trump’s tariffs. All told, that’s led to project cancelations, delays and writedowns.

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Dominion said in court papers that it is losing about $5 million a day on vessel contracts alone because of the construction halt, with more costs from idled workers and contractual penalties. The company says more than two-thirds of the expected $11.2 billion total cost has already been spent on the Virginia project, which was expected to be completed this year and provide power for 660,000 homes.

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Alternative investment firm Stonepeak Partners acquired a 50% stake in the wind project in 2024 and has agreed to fund 50% of project costs up to $11.3 billion, with additional sharing of costs in excess of that amount. According to analysts at Jefferies Financial Group Inc., Dominion and Stonepeak are sharing about $225 million in monthly costs associated with the stop-work order.