Dominion Energy has filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration’s stop-work order on December 22, which mandated a halt on all major US offshore wind projects due to alleged national security risks, as reported by AP and other US media outlets.
In its complaint filed on December 23 in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Dominion claims the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) order is “arbitrary and capricious,” violating constitutional and statutory limits on executive action.
“BOEM’s order lacks a rational basis, contradicts BOEM’s own regulations and previous lease terms, is arbitrary and capricious, procedurally deficient, violates the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), and infringes upon constitutional principles that limit Executive Branch actions,” the filing states.
Dominion seeks a temporary restraining order and injunction to block the pause, highlighting that its 2.6 GW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project has incurred significant costs and might face reliability issues if stopped.
A hearing on Dominion’s request for a temporary restraining order is set for today (December 29) before US District Judge Jamar Walker, as noted by AP on December 26.
The Department of the Interior (DOI) issued the stop-work order citing “national security risks” from classified Pentagon reports, affecting ongoing offshore wind projects, including Dominion’s CVOW, Vineyard Wind, Revolution Wind, Sunrise Wind, and Empire Wind.
These projects have a combined capacity of 5.8 GW.
Dominion Energy stated: “Halting CVOW threatens grid reliability for critical national assets, could trigger energy inflation, and jeopardize thousands of jobs.”
The offshore wind construction halt followed a federal judge’s overturning of President Donald Trump’s indefinite stoppage of federal approvals for new wind energy projects.
Dominion’s third-quarter results, released in November, indicated the 2.6 GW offshore wind farm was 66% complete, expected to start power production in the first quarter of next year, with full commissioning by 2026.
CVOW will feature 176 Siemens Gamesa 14 MW wind turbines. Once operational, it will be the largest US offshore wind farm and one of the largest in the world with a 2.6 GW capacity.
Original Story at www.offshorewind.biz