Massive Virginia offshore wind project presses on with construction

The Trump administration turned the offshore wind industry on its head last month when it slapped a stop-work order on New York’s Empire Wind 1 project. The move launched local protests, and Empire’s developer is considering a lawsuit. But the dream of offshore wind is still alive — for now — in the warm waters off Virginia’s coast.

Dominion Energy resumed turbine installation at sunrise on Thursday last week, after the end of a federally mandated seasonal hiatus to protect migrating whales. The renewed construction marked the start of the second installation phase for a project that company executives said is 55% complete.

Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW), a 2.6-gigawatt project, has already installed 78 foundations for its 176 turbines and is generating 2,000 direct and indirect jobs for the local economy. Dominion has so far spent $6 billion on the monumental effort, which is 12 years in the making. The state-regulated utility in 2013 purchased the lease for the site about 30 miles offshore of Virginia Beach, Virginia, and overcame anti-wind opponents that sought to thwart the project.

“I can’t speak for [Empire Wind], but we’ve been through a thorough permitting process,” G.T. Hollett, a director of offshore wind at Dominion Energy, told Canary Media on Wednesday at an annual industry meeting hosted by the Oceantic Network. ​“We feel reasonably sound that we are just going to continue keeping our head down, do the job, and bring this in on time.”

So far, the project hasn’t drawn President Donald Trump’s ire. But the company is wasting no time completing it. Finishing CVOW on schedule was a major theme of Dominion’s earnings call on Thursday.

“This project is consistent with the goal of securing American energy dominance,” said Bob Blue, the utility’s CEO, echoing rhetoric voiced by Trump. 

Blue reported that CVOW is ​“months away from first delivery of electricity to customers in early 2026” and on schedule for full completion by the end of next year. 

Much of CVOW’s success stems from the fact that it has garnered bipartisan support, including that of the state’s governor, Glenn Youngkin, a Republican. 

Despite all the progress, challenges still lurk, said Blue: ​“It’s difficult to fully assess the impact tariffs may have to the project’s final cost.”

The company estimates the project’s costs could rise about $120 million by the end of June due to tariffs. Cumulatively, the company could lose $500 million if tariffs remain in place until the end of 2026.

“Right now, everything is very slow … not just offshore wind,” said Justin Slater, an executive at Fincantieri Marine Group, which serves the shipyard industry. He believes the vessel builders that serve offshore wind and passenger ferrying could feel the impact of tariffs very soon.

That the Trump administration’s animosity toward wind is taking a toll on the sector was clear at last week’s industry meeting in Virginia Beach, which was sponsored, in part, by CVOW.

“A lot of people are holding their breath right now,” said Gordon Videll, CEO of Sea Services North America, a co-op of fishermen that provide vessel services to wind developers. The company could lose millions of dollars if Empire Wind’s developer Equinor can’t continue construction. But the Virginia project ramping back up feels like a bright spot, Videll said.