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A federal judge will soon decide whether Dominion Energy obtained necessary federal approvals for its Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, a 176-turbine wind farm environmental groups are backing as a critical source of renewable energy needed to combat climate change.
Judge Loren L. AliKhan is expected to make a decision on a request for a preliminary injunction as part of a lawsuit against Dominion and U.S. President Joe Biden鈥檚 administration officials, who are overseeing construction of the offshore wind project.
The $9.8 billion CVOW project is expected to be completed in 2026 with the ability to generate enough power for up to 660,000 homes.
In March, two conservative groups,聽聽and the National Legal and Policy Center (), and the fossil fuel-funded Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (), filed the lawsuit alleging Dominion didn鈥檛 obtain, nor did the federal government issue, approvals for a biological opinion to address any impacts to the North Atlantic right whale, an endangered species. Several of the dead animals have washed up along the East Coast several times in recent years.
鈥淒ominion Energy must be prevented from engaging in any offshore construction鈥� until the National Marine Fisheries Service issues a 鈥減roperly determined鈥� biological opinion, said CFACT president Craig Rucker in a statement when the plaintiffs filed their lawsuit.
The biological opinion is separate from the e, a review of alternative plans for the project that found there could be an adverse impact to the species, considering the project lies within its migration corridor. Multiple聽聽have found that the development of offshore wind projects are not causing the deaths of right whales. Additionally, Dominion employs whale spotters who are trained to actively monitor any interactions with the species.
AliKhan鈥檚 forthcoming decision on whether the project will be delayed or not comes after an April 29 hearing where attorneys representing Dominion and the federal government where 鈥渧ague in their answers鈥� when AliKhan asked if approvals for the biological opinion were obtained, according to a news release from The Heartland Institute.
AliKhan then asked for Dominion and the Biden administration officials to file their opposition arguments by Monday, May 6. The plaintiffs agreed to file their response by the end of the day Thursday but are now asking for an extension to mid-day Friday because one of their attorneys is traveling. AliKhan is then expected to make her decision that day or the following week.
While not explicitly ordering a delay on beginning construction of CVOW, Rucker said the request for more information effectively does delay construction of the project because it wouldn鈥檛 make sense for Dominion to begin piledriving if there is a chance the judge could order construction to halt.
鈥淏ecause she didn鈥檛 explicitly order them not to do anything they鈥檙e free to go ahead and do this,鈥� said Rucker of Dominion鈥檚 plans to begin construction this week. 鈥淚t was one of those things that was kind of implied in the hearing. 鈥�
But Dominion called any characterization of the judge ordering a delay 鈥渇alse.鈥�
鈥淭here has been no delay ordered by the court,鈥� said Jeremy Slayton, spokesperson for Dominion, in a statement. 鈥淥ur construction schedule has not been altered and stays on schedule.鈥�
Bob Blue, chair, president and CEO of Dominion, expressed a similar message in a recent company earnings call on Friday.
鈥淪imilar arguments to those made by the plaintiffs in this case have been rejected by courts when raised with respect to other projects, most recently by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit just last week in a challenge brought against the permit for Vineyard Wind,鈥� said Blue, referencing a project in Massachusetts. Blue said the lawsuit 鈥渉as no merit鈥� and expects the judge to deny the plaintiff鈥檚 delay request.
Dominion had said it planned to begin construction 鈥�.鈥� The utility couldn鈥檛 begin construction prior to May 1 because the migration season for the North Atlantic Right Whale didn鈥檛 end until that date. Slayton said its latest plan to build the project this week has been dependent on the arrival of the ship Orion, which is coming from Scotland, to do the piledriving as work on Dominion鈥檚聽聽vessel is completed.
This week鈥檚 weather, forecast to be stormy, could also impact whether construction begins this week.
In their court filings Dominion and the federal government said the biological opinion approvals have been obtained. On Monday, Dominion鈥檚 attorney鈥檚 opposed any delay, citing the 鈥渕any months鈥� the plaintiffs had before seeking the preliminary injunction.
鈥淧laintiffs鈥� motion and declaration are based on speculation, and devoid of any evidence or facts鈥� that prove the CVOW project鈥檚 construction, especially piledriving, would trigger 鈥渋mmediate, substantial and possibly irreversible harm鈥� to right whales, wrote James Auslander, attorney for Dominion.
Some environmental groups such as the Southern Environmental Law Center, which have historically been at odds with Dominion over the costs of clean energy deployment, are critical of the plaintiff鈥檚 efforts. A key negotiator in a聽聽over a separate matter to allow the project to advance with construction cost overrun protections, the SELC said in a statement that the project is key to both Virginia鈥檚 clean energy future and addressing climate change.
鈥淲e鈥檝e seen time and time again fossil fuel funded groups that have no interest in protecting endangered whales trying to stop offshore wind development simply to push their own agendas forward,鈥� said Grayson Holmes, a senior attorney in SELC鈥檚 Virginia office. 鈥淭hese groups disingenuously sought an emergency order to block construction during the window of time when most right whales have moved out of Virginia鈥檚 waters.鈥� The CVOW project is 鈥渁n example of offshore wind done right,鈥� Holmes added.
The Chesapeake Climate Action Network, a group that has staunchly opposed Dominion鈥檚 proposal for a natural gas plant to ensure grid reliability in the face of unprecedented development of energy-demanding data centers, also spoke up for Dominion鈥檚 wind farm.
鈥淭he Coastal Offshore Wind Project has gone through extensive environmental review from federal and state agencies and has checked every box for responsible development and wildlife management,鈥� said Victoria Higgins, Virginia director for CCAN, in a statement.
