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Dominion Energy Stock Drops as Trump Administration Pauses Work at Offshore Wind Farms

Dec 22, 2025 12:14:00 -0500 by Nate Wolf | #Energy

Foundation pilings for Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project arrived in Portsmouth, Va., in October 2023 (Courtesy Dominion Energy)

Key Points

The Trump administration paused the leases for all large-scale offshore wind projects under construction in the U.S. on Monday, causing Dominion Energy shares to tumble.

Dominion’s wind farm off the coast of Virginia Beach, Va., was one of five leases the Interior Department said it paused. The agency cited the need to assess the mitigation of national security risks, such as potential radar interference.

“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,” said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum in a statement.

Dominion shares fell 3.7% to $57.22 at the closing bell Monday.

The offshore wind industry has been under pressure from Washington since President Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office. On the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly said he dislikes wind power. Projects already in development have been in limbo; the administration temporarily halted construction at one site in New York in April and another off the coast of Connecticut in August.

Construction on Dominion’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, or CVOW, was expected to finish by the end of 2026 and generate 2,600 megawatts of energy. Dominion was a Barron’s stock pick in November.

The company pushed back on the administration’s national-security concerns in a statement, arguing that stopping the project will trigger energy inflation, imperil jobs, and threaten power-grid reliability for military installations in coastal Virginia.

“The project has been more than 10 years in the works, involved close coordination with the military, and is located 27 to 44 miles offshore, so far offshore it does not raise visual impact concerns,” Dominion said. “The project’s two pilot turbines have been operating for five years without causing any impacts to national security.”

Other paused leases include two being developed by Danish company Orsted, whose shares tumbled 13% in European trading, and the Empire Wind project in New York led by Norwegian company Equinor. U.S.-listed shares of Equinor fell 1%.

“We are aware of the stop work order announced by the Department of Interior involving five wind projects under offshore construction in the US,” said Equinor spokesperson David Schoetz in a statement. “We are evaluating the order and seeking further information from the federal government.”

Orsted said in a statement that it was “evaluating all options to resolve the matter expeditiously, together with its partners. This includes engagement with [the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management] and other permitting agencies as well as the evaluation of potential legal proceedings.”

Shares of GE Vernova, which makes turbines for wind-energy projects, rose 0.5% on Monday. Danish supplier Vestas Wind Systems fell 2.7%.

While the work stoppage is a headwind for Dominion stock, analysts at Evercore ISI remain optimistic the CVOW project will get completed.

“The project is regulated generation, which Dominion customers are already paying for, which should support the intention to bring the project online as soon as possible,” Evercore’s Nicholas Amicucci and Sharon Wang wrote Monday in a research note, referring to voters’ concerns about affordability ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

Evercore reiterated an In Line rating and a $67 price target for Dominion stock.

Write to Nate Wolf at nate.wolf@barrons.com