A federal District Court judge in Virginia is due to hear Dominion Energy’s request on Friday for an injunction to prevent enforcement of President Donald Trump’s order halting construction of the 2.4 gigawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project.
The hearing is the latest in a series of legal challenges brought this week by offshore wind developers seeking to block the administration’s suspension of work on projects already under construction.
Earlier in the week, a judge in Washington, D.C. granted an injunction allowing Orsted to resume construction of its 704 megawatt Revolution Wind project. On Thursday, a different judge in the U.S. capital issued a similar ruling in favour of Equinor, clearing the way for work to restart on the 810 megawatt Empire Wind 1 development.
Dominion said construction at Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind had only just entered the turbine installation phase when the blanket shutdown was ordered on Dec. 22. The company had begun installing turbines using its purpose-built Charybdis jack-up vessel at the time the directive took effect.
Other developers are also seeking relief through the courts. Orsted has filed a request for an injunction covering its 924 megawatt Sunrise Wind project, while Vineyard Wind 1 — a 806 megawatt joint venture between Iberdrola and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners — has also asked a court to block enforcement of the shutdown.
The rulings are being closely watched by the U.S. offshore wind sector, as developers argue that prolonged construction delays could jeopardise project schedules and significantly increase costs.
