Trump’s war on offshore wind faces another lawsuit

The political and legal battle over America’s energy future has escalated dramatically, with a major utility taking the Trump administration to court.

Dominion Energy’s lawsuit challenges a sudden federal pause on offshore wind leases, a move that threatens billions in investment and the nation’s climate goals.

This legal clash is not just about energy policy but a fundamental conflict over presidential power, economic development, and environmental stewardship.

The Lawsuit: Dominion Energy Takes a Stand

On Tuesday, May 20, 2025, Dominion Energy filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration and the Department of the Interior.

The complaint centers on a stop work order issued by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) that halted all new lease activities for large-scale offshore wind projects.

Dominion argues this directive is an unlawful overreach that jeopardizes its massive, already-under-construction Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project.

Core Legal Arguments in the Complaint

Dominion’s legal team asserts the administration’s action is “arbitrary and capricious,” a key standard for overturning federal agency decisions.

They contend it violates the Administrative Procedure Act by lacking factual justification and failing to follow proper rulemaking procedures.

The lawsuit also claims the order infringes on constitutional separation of powers, suggesting the executive branch is improperly rewriting congressionally mandated policy.

What Dominion is Asking the Court For

The company is seeking an immediate injunction to lift the BOEM pause and allow its project and others to proceed.

It requests a declaratory judgment that the administration’s action is unlawful and invalid.

Ultimately, Dominion aims for a swift court decision to prevent what it claims would be “irreparable harm” to its investments and contractual obligations.

Understanding the “Pause”: What the Administration Did

The controversy stems from a directive from the Department of the Interior to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

This order effectively instituted a moratorium on all new lease sales and permitting activities for major offshore wind developments.

It was framed as a necessary review of the sector’s impacts, but critics see it as a politically motivated blockade.

The immediate fallout was severe for five specific wind farms already in the construction pipeline.

These include not only Dominion’s 2.6-gigawatt CVOW project but also other major developments along the Atlantic coast.

The pause creates immense uncertainty for an industry that plans and finances projects on decadal timelines.

The Stakes: America’s Largest Offshore Wind Project

At the heart of this fight is Dominion’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, a behemoth of clean energy infrastructure.

When complete, it will be the largest offshore wind farm in the United States, capable of powering up to 660,000 homes.

The project represents a $9.8 billion capital investment and is seen as a cornerstone of Virginia’s and the nation’s clean energy transition.

Project Scope and Status

CVOW involves constructing 176 turbines located 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach.

Monopile foundation installation was already underway when the stop work order was issued.

The project has already cleared numerous federal and state environmental reviews, receiving its Record of Decision from BOEM in late 2023.

The Domino Effect of Delay

Any delay triggers cascading contractual penalties and potential renegotiations with global suppliers.

Specialized installation vessels, like the Charybdis, are on tight, multi-project schedules across the Eastern Seaboard.

A prolonged pause could cause a logistical and financial chain reaction, stalling the entire U.S. offshore wind industry.

The Broader Political Conflict: Trump vs. Green Energy

This lawsuit is the latest salvo in a long-running political war against renewable energy during the Trump presidency.

The administration has consistently favored fossil fuels, rolling back regulations and opening federal lands to drilling.

Offshore wind, a visible symbol of the energy transition, has become a prime political target.

“This isn’t a policy review; it’s a political statement. The administration is attempting to dismantle, through bureaucratic delay, what it could not defeat through legislation.” – Sarah L. Windspar, Professor of Environmental Law, Georgetown University.

Rhetoric from the administration and allies often frames wind power as unreliable, ugly, and harmful to wildlife and fisheries.

This stands in stark contrast to the Biden administration’s aggressive push to lease offshore areas and fund a domestic supply chain.

The current conflict reveals how energy policy has become a polarized, whipsawing issue subject to dramatic shifts with each election.

The Irony: Powering “Data Center Alley”

A profound irony underpins this lawsuit: Dominion Energy is Virginia’s primary utility, and Virginia is home to “Data Center Alley.”

This region in Loudoun and Prince William counties hosts the world’s highest concentration of data centers, the physical backbone of the internet and artificial intelligence.

These facilities are notoriously power-hungry, with electricity demand skyrocketing due to the AI boom.

Dominion has publicly stated that data center growth is the primary driver of rising electricity demand in its service territory.

The company is under immense pressure to find massive, reliable, and clean sources of new baseload power.

Offshore wind, with its strong, consistent coastal winds, is viewed as a critical solution to this demand crisis.

“The AI revolution is being built in Virginia, but it runs on electrons. If we can’t build clean sources like offshore wind, the only alternative is more fossil fuel generation, which contradicts the sustainability pledges of every major tech company located there.” – Michael Chen, Energy Analyst, ClearView Energy Partners.

This creates a bizarre political paradox: an administration pausing a project that would power the very technology and economic sector it often champions.

The lawsuit thus sits at the nexus of climate policy, economic growth, and technological infrastructure.

Legal Precedents and the Road Ahead

Dominion’s case enters a complex legal landscape shaped by recent Supreme Court rulings on agency authority.

The “major questions doctrine,” emphasized in cases like West Virginia v. EPA, could be invoked by either side.

The administration may argue that sweeping energy policy requires clear congressional authorization, while Dominion will argue the pause itself is a major, unauthorized action.

Potential Outcomes and Timeline

The first major battle will be over Dominion’s request for a preliminary injunction, which could be decided within months.

A full legal resolution, potentially reaching appellate courts, could take years, which in itself would act as a de facto moratorium.

The case could also be rendered moot by a change in administration or a congressional intervention, though both are uncertain.

The Ripple Effects on the U.S. Wind Industry

The BOEM pause and ensuing lawsuit have sent shockwaves through the nascent U.S. offshore wind industry.

Investor confidence, already shaken by supply chain inflation and interest rate hikes, is now facing acute political risk.

The United States risks ceding its hard-won momentum to European and Asian competitors who offer more stable policy environments.

The immediate impacts are already being felt across the supply chain:

• Manufacturing Halt: Plans for new turbine blade, nacelle, and foundation factories in states like New York and New Jersey are now in jeopardy.
• Port Investment Stalled: Hundreds of millions in public and private funds for port upgrades are at risk without guaranteed projects.
• Workforce Disruption: Specialized training programs for offshore wind technicians face uncertainty, threatening a skilled labor pipeline.
• Financial Reassessment: Banks and investors are recalculating risk premiums for U.S. offshore wind, potentially raising the cost of future capital.
• State Policy Crisis: States like Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey have legally binding clean energy mandates dependent on offshore wind.

“This action doesn’t just stop projects; it unravels an entire ecosystem. We spent a decade building a domestic supply chain from scratch. A prolonged pause tells the world that the U.S. is not a reliable partner for long-term energy investments.” – Liz Burdock, CEO of the Business Network for Offshore Wind.

Environmental and Climate Implications

Beyond economics, the legal fight has profound consequences for U.S. climate commitments and environmental health.

The U.S. goal of a 100% clean electricity grid by 2035 and net-zero emissions by 2050 relies heavily on a massive scale-up of offshore wind.

Delaying or canceling these projects makes those targets mathematically unattainable, according to multiple energy modelers.

The environmental trade-offs are also central to the debate.

• Climate Benefit: The CVOW project alone is estimated to offset over 5 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, equivalent to taking 1 million cars off the road.
• Localized Impact: The administration’s review focuses on potential impacts on marine life, commercial fishing, and coastal views.
• Air Quality: Replacing fossil-fuel generation with offshore wind reduces emissions of sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter, improving public health.
• Ocean Co-use: Ongoing research is focused on ensuring coexistence with sustainable fisheries and protecting endangered species like the North Atlantic right whale.

Opponents argue the review is necessary to address these localized concerns, while proponents see it as a pretext ignoring the greater climate threat.

Key Takeaways

• Major Legal Challenge: Dominion Energy’s lawsuit is a direct, high-stakes challenge to the Trump administration’s authority to unilaterally pause offshore wind development.
• Project in Jeopardy: The nation’s largest offshore wind farm, the 2.6-gigawatt Coastal Virginia project, is immediately halted, threatening $9.8 billion in investment.
• Political Whiplash: The action highlights the extreme vulnerability of U.S. energy policy to shifting political winds, creating uncertainty for long-term infrastructure investments.
• AI Energy Paradox: The pause blocks clean power for Virginia’s exploding data center industry, forcing a reckoning between tech growth and fossil fuel dependence.
• Industry-Wide Chill: The moratorium threatens the entire U.S. offshore wind supply chain, from manufacturing to workforce development, potentially ceding leadership to other regions.
• Climate Goals at Risk: Achieving legislated and pledged U.S. climate targets becomes significantly harder, if not impossible, without timely deployment of offshore wind.

Final Thoughts

The lawsuit filed by Dominion Energy is far more than a corporate dispute; it is a referendum on the direction of American energy.

It pits executive power against regulatory process, political ideology against economic reality, and localized environmental concerns against the global climate crisis.

The outcome will determine whether the United States embraces a leading role in the global offshore wind industry or retreats from it.

It will signal to international investors whether the country’s clean energy commitments are durable or subject to partisan reversal.

Ultimately, the case underscores a fundamental truth about modern energy infrastructure.

These are not just power projects; they are multi-decadal undertakings that require policy stability to attract the capital necessary to build them.

The court’s decision will either restore a measure of that stability or deepen the uncertainty, with consequences that will resonate for decades in America’s energy mix, economic competitiveness, and environmental legacy.