NORFOLK, Va. (CN) - In a blow to President Donald Trump, a federal judge on Friday granted an injunction allowing for the completion of a wind turbine project off the coast of Virginia.
In a ruling from the bench, Judge Jamar Walker, a Joe Biden appointee, granted a temporary restraining order permitting Dominion Energy to continue working on the coastal Virginia offshore wind project as litigation proceeds. Dominion Energy had sued the federal government in December after the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management suspended for 90 days all ongoing projects related to wind energy, citing national security.
"Our team will now focus on safely restarting work to ensure CVOW" - that is, the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project - "begins delivery of critical energy in just weeks," Dominion Energy said in an email. "While our legal challenge proceeds, we will continue seeking a durable resolution of this matter through cooperation with the federal government."
The bureau's suspension came after Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January 2025 entitled "Temporary Withdrawal of All Areas on the Outer Continental Shelf from Offshore Wind Leasing and Review of the Federal Government's Leasing and Permitting Practices for Wind Projects." That memo prompted the Department of the Interior to review the project.
The administration cited purported confidential information from the War Department, which ostensibly indicated that offshore wind projects could impact national security.
"The prime duty of the United States government is to protect the American people," Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said in a December press release. "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. The Trump administration will always prioritize the security of the American people."
The government argued that the court should wait until it had provided its confidential reasoning. Walker, however, sided with Dominion Energy, which sought to maintain the status quo until the court ruled on a preliminary injunction. The order comes as Dominion Energy continues to litigate the legal basis for the suspension.
Walker has yet to issue an opinion explaining his decision but indicated he believes the suspension is causing Dominion Energy irreparable harm and that the company is likely to succeed on its claim that the suspension violates the Administrative Procedures Act.
"I applaud the court's decision to block this reckless and unlawful order. Three judges - appointed by three different presidents, Reagan, Trump, and Biden - have now all rejected President Trump's attempt to shut down this critical project," Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates Don Scott, a Democrat, said in a press release. "This disruption should never have happened. I look forward to the legal process continuing, construction moving forward, and Virginia doing what we do best: building a reliable, affordable energy future."
Virginia Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner and U.S. Representative Bobby Scott, all Democrats, submitted a brief in support of Dominion.
In it, they questioned why the administration hasn't shared any specifics about this supposed national security threat.
"This lack of transparency raises grave concerns, which should inform this court's review," the legislators wrote in their support brief. "When information is not timely shared, it is reasonable to ask why. And asking that question is especially essential given the many steps the administration has taken to target offshore wind projects in particular, several of which have been declared unlawful or are currently being challenged."
If completed, the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project will consist of 176 offshore wind turbines located 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. They will be capable of supplying 9.5 million megawatt-hours of energy per year, enough to power approximately 660,000 homes.
Virginia State Senate Majority Leader Scott Surrovel, also a Democrat, estimated the project will save $320 million per year in avoided fuel charges while also generating renewable energy certificates.
The conservation community celebrated the order.
"Virginia needs more, not less, affordable clean energy, and today's ruling helps make that happen," Blair St. Ledger-Olson, director of advocacy and campaigns for the Virginia League of Conservation Voters, said in a press release. "The Trump administration's continued obstruction of clean energy projects may be good for his fossil fuel donors, but it hurts Virginians, saddling us with higher energy bills and dirtier air while killing good-paying jobs."
The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment.
Source: Courthouse News Service
