NORFOLK, Va. — The Trump administration announced it is withdrawing over $39 million in funds meant for a Norfolk facility supporting Dominion's Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project.
The announcement, made on the Department of Transportation's (DOT) website on Friday, notes withdrawn or terminated funding for several of what it called "doomed offshore wind" projects at various sites across the U.S., totaling nearly $700 million.
The funding was awarded to projects by DOT under former President Joe Biden's administration.
Watch related: Dominion offers up-close look at progress of offshore wind project
The Norfolk Fairwinds Landing facility, previously known as Lambert's Point Docks, broke ground on its offshore wind facility in summer 2023. While the center itself is not a Dominion project, it was intended to support logistics for the company's sprawling offshore wind project off the Virginia Beach coast.
According to Virginia Beach-based developer The Miller Group, the Dominion Energy Offshore Wind Monitoring and Coordination Center was a 31,167-square-foot operations and maintenance center that also included a 17,280-square-foot warehouse for storing spare parts. The Miller Group's website said the MCC was targeting a 2025 completion and "will serve as Dominion Energy's homeport for operations and maintenance activities" for the offshore wind project.
DOT Secretary Sean Duffy said the cuts are aimed at preventing waste and reinvesting in "America's maritime dominance."
“Wasteful, wind projects are using resources that could otherwise go towards revitalizing America’s maritime industry,” Duffy said in a statement. “Thanks to President Trump, we are prioritizing real infrastructure improvements over fantasy wind projects that cost much and offer little.”
Watch related: Ground broken for offshore wind monitoring center in Norfolk
Virginia gubernatorial candidate and former Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, released a statement Wednesday saying the move will hurt Virginia, calling it part of the Trump administration's "sledgehammer approach to governing."
"Not only is the Fairwinds Landing project set up to support Virginia’s nation-leading offshore wind industry, but also to create hundreds of new jobs and bring economic growth to Hampton Roads and communities across Coastal Virginia," Spanberger said.
Immediately after taking office in his second term, President Trump issued an executive order that temporarily halted new leases on wind energy projects, and called for a comprehensive review of existing projects.
“We have more oil and gas than any country in the world, and we’re going to use it," Trump said at the time. "We’re not going to do the wind thing.”
