RICHMOND, Va. — A bill aiming to increase the state's investment in the offshore wind workforce was recently approved by Gov. Abigail Spanberger, her office said Thursday.
House Bill 67 — sponsored by Del. Michael Feggans — directs the Virginia Department of Energy to identify and develop workforce training resources tailored specifically for offshore wind. The bill aims to prepare Virginians for jobs in turbine manufacturing, installation, operations and maintenance as offshore wind development accelerates along the coast.
The bill does not allocate new funding for wind farms, but focuses on workforce readiness, leaving program development to existing state agencies.
The topic of offshore wind became a hot-button issue in recent years. It rose to national conversations when the Trump administration took aim at funding and ongoing construction for these projects.
Watch previous coverage: Trump admin cuts $39M from Norfolk's Fairwinds Landing offshore wind logistics center
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.”
Watch related coverage: Wind worker reacts to impact of Trump admin's policies on renewable energy jobs
In Sept. 2025, the U.S. Department of Transportation noted withdrawn or terminated funding for several of what it called "doomed offshore wind" projects at various sites across the U.S., totaling nearly $700 million.
In Norfolk, this resulted in $39 million being cut from Fairwinds Landing's planned offshore wind logistics facility.
The funding was awarded to projects by DOT under former President Joe Biden's administration.
Watch previous coverage: Judge grants Dominion's request to continue offshore wind project after Trump admin pause
The Trump administration had also issued a federal suspension order against Dominion Energy's Virginia Offshore Wind Project. In Jan. 2026, a federal judge granted the energy company's request for an injunction to allow construction to continue.
Dominion argued the stop-work order was unlawful and would inflict “irreparable harm” on the $11.2 billion project, which has already incurred significant costs and is scheduled to deliver clean power for hundreds of thousands of homes — including supporting Naval Air Station Oceana.
The injunction lets Dominion resume work while the broader legal challenge plays out.
