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Dominion Energy wind turbines located 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach in the Atlantic Ocean, July 17, 2023.
Kendall Warner | Virginian Pilot | Getty Images
The Trump administration on Monday halted offshore wind energy on the Virginia coast, the largest such project in the United States, along with four other projects under construction off the East Coast, dealing a devastating blow to the economy. wind industry.
Actions of Dominion Energythe public service which is developing the Virginia project, fell almost 4% on this news.
The administration also suspended the leases of Vineyard Wind 1 off Massachusetts, Revolution Wind off Rhode Island, Sunrise Wind off Long Island and New England, and Empire Wind 1 south of Long Island.
All of the projects would provide enough electricity to power more than 2 million homes, according to statements from the developers.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the administration suspended project leases due to national security concerns identified by the Pentagon.
Shares of Danish Orsted, developer of the Revolution and Sunrise projects, fell 11%. Norway Equinorthe developer of Empire Wind 1, fell about 1%.
Virginia Coastal Offshore Wind is a 176-turbine project that would provide enough electricity for more than 600,000 homes, according to Dominion. The project was expected to be completed next year.
Dominion said the massive project was critical to U.S. national security and to meeting Virginia’s dramatically growing energy needs. Northern Virginia is the largest data center hub in the world. Growing demand for artificial intelligence contributes to a rise electricity price in the state.
“Shutdown of CVOW for any period of time will threaten network reliability for some of the nation’s most important warfighting, AI and civilian assets,” Dominion said. said in a statement.
“It will also lead to energy inflation and threaten thousands of jobs,” the utility said.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, supports the plan. New Governor Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, won the gubernatorial election in November. a promise to address rising electricity costs partly by developing renewable energies.
The Interior Department said in a statement that the pause will give the federal government time to “work with tenants and state partners to assess the feasibility of mitigating the national security risks posed by these projects.”
Interior said the U.S. government found that turbine blades and “highly reflective towers” created a risk of radar interference.
“Disorder caused by offshore wind projects obscures legitimate moving targets and generates false targets near wind projects,” Interior said.
President Donald Trump has targeted the U.S. wind industry since his first day in office. On January 20, Trump ordered a halt to all new leases and permits for onshore and offshore wind energy pending a federal review.
The senator Chuck SchumerDY, condemned Trump’s campaign against wind projects as “irrational.” The Senate minority leader said Interior’s decision would lead to higher energy bills.
“Trump’s obsession with killing offshore wind projects is unbalanced, irrational and unjustified,” Schumer said in a statement Monday. “At a time of soaring energy coststhis latest decision by the DOI is a step backwards that will drive up energy bills even more. »
Trump’s campaign against the wind industry is over against the courts. Judge Patti Saris of the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts ruled Dec. 8 that Trump’s order was “arbitrary, capricious and contrary to law.”
