Dominion Energy Inc. (NYSE: D) can restart construction on its offshore wind project in Virginia while continuing its legal fight against a federal stop-work order. A federal judge in Norfolk, Virginia, issued a preliminary injunction that blocks the government from enforcing the order.
Judge Rules in Favor of Dominion
United States District Judge Jamar Walker said Dominion was suffering “irreparable harm” while the project sat idle. The company told the court it is losing roughly US$5 million per day on vessel contracts alone, with additional costs from idle workers and penalties. The judge noted the government had not shown a national security threat so urgent that construction needed to stop.
Walker is the third federal judge this week to allow previously halted wind projects to resume. Earlier rulings cleared Norway’s Orsted A/S in Rhode Island and Equinor ASA’s Empire Wind project near New York to continue construction.
Legal Background
Dominion’s Virginia unit is suing the U.S. Department of the Interior over a December 22 order that paused five East Coast wind projects for 90 days. The government cited unspecified national security concerns. Dominion argues the reasons are arbitrary and that the pause violates due process because the company received no prior notice or hearing.
The government maintains that the Department of Defense provided new classified information on foreign technology that could pose risks to offshore wind development.
Financial Stakes
Dominion and its partner Stonepeak Partners, which owns 50 percent of the project, say more than two-thirds of the US$11.2 billion total cost has already been spent. Stonepeak agreed to fund half of project costs up to US$11.3 billion and share additional costs beyond that. Analysts at Jefferies estimate Dominion and Stonepeak are spending about US$225 million per month because of the stop-work order.
The project was expected to power 660,000 homes and is considered critical for Virginia’s growing electricity demand. Dominion says it will provide energy to the world’s largest concentration of data centers, federal government facilities, and military installations, including the Pentagon.
Industry Context
The U.S. offshore wind industry has faced multiple challenges in recent years, from inflation and supply chain problems to rising costs from tariffs. Trump’s administration also paused permitting for federal wind projects, although courts have blocked some of those actions.
What Comes Next
Construction can resume immediately, but the underlying legal battle will continue. The case highlights ongoing tension between national security concerns and the push to expand renewable energy infrastructure along the U.S. East Coast.
