US judge allows Dominion offshore wind project to restart, another legal setback for Trump

By Blake Brittain and Nichola Groom

NORFOLK, Virginia, Jan 16 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Friday cleared U.S. power company Dominion Energy ​to resume work on its Virginia offshore wind project, the third ‌legal blow this week to President Donald Trump's anti-offshore wind agenda.

Judge Jamar Walker of the ‌U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia issued a temporary order that allows Dominion to restart construction on the $11.2 billion project while its lawsuit against Trump's Interior Department proceeds.

Earlier this week, offshore wind developers Orsted and Equinor ⁠won similar rulings from a ‌U.S. court in Washington in their litigation over Interior's December 22 suspension of five projects under construction in federal ‍waters.

The government paused the projects due to what it said was new, classified information on risks to national security from radar interference.

At the hearing in Norfolk, Virginia, Walker ​said Interior's stop-work order was too broad to address Dominion's specific ‌project and noted that the risks cited by the government pertained to wind farm operations and not construction.

The Interior Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling.

The court decisions in these cases are high stakes for companies and their shareholders because they could allow the ⁠multi-billion-dollar projects to be completed, but underlying ​lawsuits and the administration's aversion to offshore wind ​will continue to weigh on the sector.

Offshore wind developers have faced repeated disruptions under Trump, who says wind turbines are ‍ugly, expensive and inefficient.

Dominion ⁠has already spent nearly $9 billion on the project and stands to lose $5 million a day during the pause.

The facility has been under ⁠construction since 2023 and is expected to provide enough energy to power 600,000 homes.

(Reporting by ‌Blake Brittain in Norfolk, Virginia and Nichola Groom in Los Angeles; ‌Editing by Chris Reese, Rod Nickel)