UPDATED: Dominion Sues Feds Over Offshore Wind Project Halt, With Action Possible on Others Shut

UPDATED: Dominion Power, proprietor of considered one of 5 giant East Coast offshore wind vitality initiatives for which the U.S. Inside Dept. ordered an immediate construction pause Dec. 22 because of claimed nationwide safety issues, filed a federal lawsuit Dec. 23 in opposition to the motion affecting the two.6-GW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind undertaking (CVOW) off Virginia Seaside, Va., which is about to start operation subsequent 12 months. Dominion and OSW Challenge LLC, the entity that features undertaking non-public investor co-owner Stonepeak Companions, stated they search a temporary restraining order and might also file for a everlasting injunction.

Along with that undertaking, Inside stated the preliminary 90-day pause that might be prolonged, applies to the 800-MW Winery Wind 1 undertaking off Massachusetts, which already has half of its 64 generators working; the 810-MW Empire Wind and 920-MW Dawn Wind initiatives off New York; and the 704-MW Revolution Wind undertaking between Rhode Island and Connecticut that confronted a earlier Trump shutdown order overturned by federal court docket order. 

Inside Secretary Doug Burgum stated the pause would enable added “overview of rising nationwide safety dangers,” together with claimed potential radar interference from giant offshore wind installations and claimed “evolving adversary applied sciences.” 

All 5 initiatives have acquired multi-agency federal approvals, together with from protection companies, and collectively symbolize about $28 billion in investment, in line with BloombergNEF.

The Virginia undertaking swimsuit filed in U.S. district court docket in Norfolk stated Inside’s order “units forth no rational foundation, can’t be reconciled with … prior issued [federal ocean] lease phrases and approvals, is unfair and capricious, procedurally poor, violates [federal law] and infringes upon constitutional rules that restrict actions by the Government Department.” The Dec. 23 Dominion motion stated the “unlawful order is inflicting critical, irreparable hurt to [the owner] and its prospects, and should be instantly, after which completely, vacated and enjoined.”  

These impacts embrace $5 million per day in prices associated to its idled offshore development vessel, and associated expense for crews and saved tools, the swimsuit stated.

“If granted by the court docket, this may enable the undertaking to renew work,” stated a Dominion spokesman. “On the similar time, we are going to work to hunt decision by cooperation with the companies and the White Home, with a concentrate on reaching a sturdy answer.”  Dominion stated it has already spent greater than two-thirds of the overall $11-billion undertaking improvement price.

The authorized motion “highlights the arbitrariness of Inside’s halt of CVOW actions divorced from any CVOW-specific findings,”  Dominion stated. The swimsuit doesn’t pertain to the opposite halted initiatives, however the vitality agency termed the Virginia undertaking pause order “the most recent in a sequence of irrational company actions attacking offshore wind after which doubling down when these actions are discovered illegal.”

However calling the order “much more lawless and erratic” than the stop-work order for Revolution Wind struck down by a federal court docket in September, Connecticut Legal professional Normal William Tong (D) stated the state is “evaluating all authorized choices, and this can be stopped identical to final time.” 

In a Dec. 23 joint statement, governors of Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New York stated the federal lease pause “can even inject additional uncertainty into the markets.” They didn’t affirm nor rule out any joint or separate lawsuits, however in addition they search to barter with the administration associated to gasoline pipelline funding, according to comments by Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) to The New York Instances. 

The governors on Dec. 24 additionally despatched a joint letter to Burgum outlning sturdy issues with the undertaking halt rationale and demanding a labeled briefing associated to claimed nationwide safety dangers, in line with a posting on  New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s web site.

Neither outgoing Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, nor just lately elected successor Abigail Spanberger (D), is iisted as a part of the governors’ group and has not commented on state actions to reverse the shutdown, though each have strongly supported the CVOW wind undertaking in previous statements.

In the meantime, Senate Democrats Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.) and Martin Heinrich (N.M.) stated Dec. 22 they’d abandon present bipartisan negotiations on federal allowing reform laws except the administration reverses the lease pause. 

Authorized and Regulatory Context

The motion follows a Dec. 10 ruling by U.S. District Decide Patti Saris in Boston vacating an earlier directive that paused federal allowing for onshore and offshore wind initiatives nationwide. That case was introduced by 17 states and the District of Columbia, difficult a Jan. 20 presidential directive that halted federal wind approvals pending further overview.

Earlier this 12 months, the Trump administration additionally moved to halt work on the Empire Wind and Revolution Wind initiatives, actions later reversed following discussions with New York and New England officers and, within the latter’s case, a court-ordered restraining order sought by its builders, Orsted and personal investor Blackrock.

In a analysis word. sector analyst ClearView stated the pause “will not be a coincidence” with the Boston court docket ruling, stated a report by wind sector publication Recharge. “Merely put, the administration might view [halt order] as a ‘counterpunch’ to judicial setbacks.”

Denmark-based Orsted, additionally developer of the halted Dawn Wind set to finish by the second half of 2027, stated it may need to faucet into an estimated $9-billion investor funding infusion gained earlier this 12 months if initiatives need to be taken down. The agency’s inventory fell 13% on Dec. 22 after the federal government announcement

The developer stated 44 of the undertaking’s deliberate 84 turbine foundations and its offshore substation had been put in this 12 months, and that development of its 106-mile transmission cable from Smith Level, Lengthy Island to the wind-energy lease space is greater than 40% full.

“Ørsted is evaluating all choices to resolve the matter expeditiously,” the corporate stated, together with evaluating “potential authorized proceedings.” 

Norway-based Empire Wind developer Equinor stated it’s “evaluating the order and in search of additional info from the federal authorities.”  The agency had been making ready for the 262-ft development vessel ECO Liberty, to start out putting in its 54 generators, every 15MW, subsequent spring. The ship, one of many first manufactured within the U.S., was launched in June from its Louisiana fabrication web site. 

The administration final Could agreed to undertaking completion after talks with Hochul that studies say additionally enabled renewed motion to progress two gasoline proposed pipelines in New York. The estimated $5-billion Empire Wind undertaking, which is about to offer energy to New York Metropolis and together with improve of the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, had employed greater than 4,000 employees earlier than the present halt.

Hochul posted on social media that the administration will “search for any excuse to proceed its assault on clear vitality—and the 1000’s of good-paying jobs these initiatives carry— however there is no such thing as a credible justification for this stoppage. The true risk to nationwide safety is in undermining our vitality independence,” she stated.

Sector improvement consultants additionally famous lack of element used to assist the administration place.

“All initiatives topic to the development pause already underwent a nationwide safety overview once they had been permitted,” Philip Totaro, CEO of offshore wind guide IntelStor, instructed ENR. “There are greater than 80 GW of offshore wind initiatives working globally, and whereas some did have reliable radar interference points, these had been handled throughout the allowing course of.”

Federal analysis has lengthy acknowledged that wind generators can create radar “muddle,” though research by the U.S. Power Dept. additionally say mitigation applied sciences and operational changes can cut back these results.

Inside stated it’ll work with Protection Dept. leaseholders and state companions to judge whether or not mitigation measures are possible.

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Collective Push Again

Dominion Power warned that the CVOW undertaking pause might threaten grid reliability in one of many nation’s main army hubs and fastest-growing energy markets. 

“The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Challenge is crucial for American nationwide safety and assembly Virginia’s dramatically rising vitality wants,” stated Jeremy Slayton, firm spokesperson. “Stopping it for any size of time will threaten grid reliability for a few of the nation’s most necessary war-fighting, AI and civilian property.”

Slayton stated the undertaking helps 1000’s of jobs and was accepted by Virginia regulators in 2022 following an in depth overview. 

Environmental and clean-energy teams criticized the pause of all initiatives. The Conservation Legislation Basis stated it revives arguments courts have beforehand rejected, exposing the federal government to extra authorized challenges. Ted Kelly, director and lead counsel for U.S. clear vitality on the Environmental Protection Fund, stated the administration was “recklessly obstructing the build-out of fresh, inexpensive energy for thousands and thousands of People.” 

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey stated Inside had made “unfounded and unspecified claims” about nationwide safety dangers associated to offshore wind. “It’s harmful to halt development in the course of a undertaking,” she stated, including that Winery Wind has agreements in place with the Protection Dept. and U.S. Air Drive to handle safety issues. The undertaking is owned by Avengrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Companions.

Regional grid operator ISO New England stated pausing Winery Wind and Revolution Wind might trigger energy provide shortfalls. “Each initiatives are included in our near-term and future modeling and analyses to make sure sufficient electrical energy for New England,” it stated.

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Labor leaders additionally warned of instant workforce impacts. Kendall Martin, president of the Ironworkers District Council of the Mid-Atlantic States, stated pausing work in Virginia would sideline employees who’ve spent almost two years constructing the undertaking.  “Halting [its] development and operations … is nothing in need of devastating for the employees,” he stated, including that they had been instructed the pause would remove their jobs for at the least 90 days.

Frank Callahan, president of the Massachusetts Constructing Trades Unions, stated the suspension order amounted to “a layoff discover for a lot of union trades employees simply three days earlier than Christmas.”

However Inexperienced Oceans, a bunch vital of offshore wind vitality improvement, stated the motion is a proactive effort to handle missile-defense vulnerabilities tied to offshore infrastructure.

Inside didn’t instantly launch project-specific stop-work orders or element how the lease pause will have an effect on development schedules, marine operations or supply-chain contracts. Builders and state companies stated they had been reviewing the announcement and awaiting formal course from federal regulators. 

IntelStor’s Totaro urged challenges to the pause.

“Builders have to get snug with defying these shutdown orders as a result of the implications of defiance truly pale compared to the billions they stand to lose in the event that they pause development,” he stated. “Tasks might actually run out of price range and by no means end development, and the [U.S.] authorities is aware of this. It’s their technique.

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He added: “The truth that this can be a deliberate order issued in dangerous religion, and that builders have grounds to show is why they need to be allowed to defy the order. They may additionally search compensation from the federal government for deliberately interfering with the undertaking improvement course of.

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Totaro pointed to Equinor specifically, noting its “settlement in place” as “proof of dangerous religion” by the federal government, additionally suggesting that the sovereign wealth fund of Norway, which is the agency’s majority proprietor, has $850 billion invested within the US, “examine pulling a few of that out.”