Dominion Energy Received Injunction Against Offshore Wind Stop-Work Order
Virginia’s Dominion Energy, which is developing the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project, became the third developer this week to receive an injunction against the Trump administration’s December 2025 stop-work order. Five projects received the order, with three now having received preliminary injunctions, and the other two projects in court seeking similar orders.
Judge Jamar Walker in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia issued a similar option to the judges hearing cases for Revolution Wind and Empire Wind. Judge Walker found that the order issued by the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management on December 22 “would likely cause irreparable harm” to the utility company. Dominion Energy, unlike the other developers, is a state-regulated utility.
Dominion had filed the first challenge to the stop-work order, but Judge Walker had delayed an early ruling to give the government time to provide information to back up its stop-work order. He had asked for details on the confidential study reportedly conducted by the Pentagon, which was cited as the basis for the stop-work order. The government has vaguely referred to national security concerns and the potential for radar clutter from the turbine blades and towers.
During a hearing on Friday, January 16, Judge Walker said that he found the order “too broad,” and not specific to Dominion Energy’s project. He also indicated that he believed the concerns raised about potential radar interference were related to the operation of the wind farm and not its construction.
In its suit, Dominion Energy had called the order “arbitrary and illegal.” It countered the claims of national security by saying the project was vital to national security. It noted dramatic increases in power demand in Virginia, highlighting that its service area includes significant military installations and the world’s largest warship manufacturer (including Newport News, which is building the U.S.’s next generation of super carriers). Furthermore, it also highlighted that Virginia has the largest concentration of data centers and is playing a leading-edge role in the AI revolution.
The company responded to today’s ruling, saying that it would focus on safely restarting work on the project. Previous statements said the project is approximately 60 percent complete. It was expected to begin generating its power in the coming weeks. When completed, it will have 176 offshore wind turbines with a generating capacity of 2.6 GW.
The ruling follows Thursday’s decision, which also permits Equinor to resume work on the Empire Wind project off New York. Equinor had threatened to abandon its project if it did not receive the injunction this week.
At the beginning of the week, a third court also issued an injunction for the second time against the government so that Revolution Wind could resume construction. Revolution Wind is being developed by Ørsted in partnership with a division of BlackRock.
Each of the companies has indicated a willingness to work with the government and said they had not received responses to requests for a briefing on the Pentagon’s report. The Trump administration has repeatedly sought ways to stop the development of wind energy and directed all of its departments to work together to stop the development. Dominion Energy said after today’s ruling, it would continue to seek “a durable resolution” through cooperation with the federal government.
that matters most
Get the latest maritime news delivered to your inbox daily.
Each of the cases has awarded a preliminary injunction based on the information presented, which blocks the government from enforcing the stop-work order. It is not a decision on the merits of the complaint challenging the stop-work order, but under U.S. law, courts only traditionally issue preliminary injunctions when they agree the action will cause serious harm and the companies have a solid case likely to prevail at trial.
After Thursday's ruling, a spokesperson for the White House vowed the administration would continue to fight against the development of offshore wind energy power.