Dominion offshore wind project off Virginia Beach coast among 5 paused by Trump administration

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Dominion Energy's Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project off the Virginia Beach coast is one of five projects the Trump administration announced Monday it will pause over what it called national security concerns.

The decision was made after the Pentagon identified national security risks in recently completed classified reports, according to a release by the Department of the Interior. It goes on to say that unclassified reports have found cases of radar interference from moving wind turbines and "highly reflective towers."

"The clutter caused by offshore wind projects obscures legitimate moving targets and generates false targets in the vicinity of the wind projects," the release said.

The release says the pause will give the administration time to address security risks with leaseholders and state partners.

Watch related: Trump admin cuts $39M from Norfolk's Fairwinds Landing offshore logistics center

“The prime duty of the United States government is to protect the American people,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement. “Today’s action addresses emerging national security risks, including the rapid evolution of the relevant adversary technologies, and the vulnerabilities created by large-scale offshore wind projects with proximity near our east coast population centers.”

In a post to X, Sec. Burgum indicated one natural gas pipeline could provide as much energy as all five projects affected by the pause.

Dominion's project, located in the Atlantic Ocean 26 miles from Virginia Beach, has been under construction for years. Last month, Dominion reported that all 176 monopiles to hold the turbines had been constructed.

At last check, the $9.8 billion project — which has had support from Gov. Glenn Youngkin, whose term ends next month — was expected to be completed in late 2026. Dominion said it aimed to provide with enough power to deliver energy to hundreds of thousands of homes in Virginia.

Dominion released a statement shortly after the announcement, saying in part:

"The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project (CVOW) is essential for American national security and meeting Virginia’s dramatically growing energy needs, the fastest growth in America. This growth is driven by the need to provide reliable power to many of America’s most important war fighting installations, the world’s largest warship manufacturer, and the largest concentration of data centers on the planet as well as the leading edge of the AI revolution.  Stopping CVOW for any length of time will threaten grid reliability for some of the nation’s most important war fighting, AI, and civilian assets. It will also lead to energy inflation and threaten thousands of jobs." 

Rep. Jen Kiggans, a Republican who represents Virginia Beach, expressed her disappointment in the news in a post on X Monday afternoon:

And former Congresswoman Elaine Luria, who's challenging Kiggans for her seat in next year's midterms, sent a statement to WTKR:

“The reckless decision to halt this project is just the latest example of the chaos created by the Trump Administration and Jen Kiggans that will raise prices and cost Coastal Virginia jobs and economic opportunities. It’s clear that this decision is based solely on politics, and it will have devastating consequences for communities, small businesses, and working families in Hampton Roads who are already struggling to afford their utility bills. Coastal Virginia cannot afford anymore of the chaos created by the Trump Administration and Jen Kiggans. We deserve better. As a member of Congress, I created the bipartisan Offshore Wind Caucus and fought for these investments in our local communities to create jobs and lower energy costs. I look forward to getting back to work in Congress to reverse this terrible decision and lower energy prices for Virginians.”

Residents in Virginia Beach’s Croatan neighborhood have dealt with noise from the project since construction began.

Croatan Civic League President Mike Kelly said those concerns have eased as the project has progressed.

“From a citizen’s perspective, it’s pretty disappointing,” Kelly said after learning about the pause on Monday morning.

He said that because the project is well underway, he hopes it can get back on track.

“To have a project like this that is months away from completion, canceled just like that, doesn’t seem like the best way of doing business in this country,” Kelly said.