Virginia Beach wind farm spared from Trump order, but future projects could be slowed, experts say

President Donald Trump used his first day in workplace to slam the brakes on the renewable vitality business, issuing an govt order to quickly halt federal leasing, allowing and approval of each onshore and offshore wind vitality initiatives.

However a Virginia Seaside wind farm already beneath building might be spared the fast results of the order, mentioned environmental specialists and Dominion Vitality officers. Nonetheless, the specialists say different Dominion initiatives might be delayed.

“It will have an effect on any future leases,” mentioned Eileen Woll, offshore vitality program director for the Sierra Membership’s Virginia chapter.

Below the Monday govt order, the Trump administration will pause all offshore wind leases in federal waters, along with halting allowing and approvals for any wind projecteach offshore or onshore.

The order notes that, “Nothing in this withdrawal affects rights under existing leases in the withdrawn areas.” That features the two.6-gigawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind challenge, which started building off the coast of Virginia Seaside final 12 months.

Nevertheless, the order instructs the Secretary of the Inside to overview the ecological, financial, and environmental necessity of terminating or amending such leases, figuring out any authorized bases for such removing and submitting a report back to the president.

Woll mentioned the order’s language appeared to point a willingness to go after current leases. Nevertheless, she famous that speaking was one factor, whereas “having the legal foundation to actually do it is another.”

In response to a query about whether or not the Trump administration would attempt to alter the Virginia Seaside wind farm lease, Dominion spokesperson Jeremy Slayton pointed to feedback made by Trump’s nominee for Secretary of the Inside Doug Burgum. Burgum mentioned throughout a Jan. 16 affirmation listening to on current initiatives that, “If they make sense and they are already in law then they will continue.”

“CVOW clearly fits this standard,” Slayton mentioned in an e-mail.

Grayson Holmes, a senior legal professional in Virginia for the Southern Environmental Legislation Middle, mentioned going after a challenge just like the Virginia Seaside wind farm might be an uphill authorized battle. Dominion put in 78 of 176 turbine monopile foundations final 12 months earlier than stopping building for the season. Development is about to restart in Could following the whale migration season.

Nonetheless, Holmes mentioned the manager order might delay two Dominion initiatives years away from building: a 40,000-acre website close to Kitty Hawk bought from Avangrid in 2024 and a 176,505-acre lease space additionally close to Virginia Seaside acquired final summer time.

“Those are on pause for now so they can do this kind of evaluation,” Holmes mentioned.

Woll additionally fearful that the manager order would affect Hampton Roads financial improvement efforts to draw the businesses that manufacture the components for the massive offshore wind generators.

A consultant for the undersea cable firm LS GreenLink advised the Pilot earlier he sees no menace to the corporate from the Trump administration since a deliberate Chesapeake facility will not be up and working till 2028. One other improvement official hoped Trump would change his thoughts, given his objective of bringing again American manufacturing jobs.

Trump has waged a verbal conflict towards wind generators since he failed to dam a wind set up close to a deliberate golf course close to the Scottish city of Aberdeen in 2015. He has, with out proof, claimed the installations kill birds and whales and bemoaned how a lot the vitality supply prices to supply.

One of many three conservative organizations suing Dominion in search of to cease building of the Virginia Seaside wind farm applauded the manager orders. H. Sterling Burnett of the Heartland Institute mentioned in a press release that the orders pulled again from former President Joe Biden’s “inane climate projects” and lifted restrictions on fossil gas improvement.

The Heartland Institute, together with a number of different conservative groupsis arguing in courtroom that the wind farm is a hazard to endangered North Atlantic proper whale species. A choose denied a short lived injunction that may have halted building in a Could ruling, and the lawsuit is ongoing.

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