Saving Seafood

VIRGINIA: First Towers and Turbines Installing for Virginia Offshore Wind Farm

January 23, 2026 — Just days after a U.S. District Court judge agreed to issue a temporary injunction to let work resume on Virginia’s offshore wind farm, work is underway with the first towers and wind turbines being installed. Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind is the largest project in the United States and is using the only U.S.-built wind turbine installation vessel.

Virginia’s Senator Tim Kaine reported the process on January 21 after having toured the Portsmouth Marine Terminal and received an update on the progress made on the wind farm project. He told local news outlet WAVY, “Number one of 176” had been installed.

The development is being hailed as a milestone on the project, which was expected to generate its first power early this year. It will continue commissioning in 2026 and will reach a rated capacity of 2.6 GW when finished. It is located at least 30 miles east of Virginia Beach.

Read the full article at the Maritime Executive

Judge in Virginia Hands Trump 3rd Setback This Week on Wind Farms

January 20, 2026 — President Trump’s efforts to stifle the offshore wind power industry suffered a third legal setback this week, after a federal judge ruled on Friday that an $11.2 billion wind farm off the coast of Virginia can resume construction.

The Interior Department last month ordered all work to stop on the Virginia wind farm and four other offshore wind projects under construction, citing unspecified national security concerns. The developers of the projects have all sued in various courts, arguing that the government failed to justify its actions and that any delays would cause irreparable harm to the companies.

So far, judges have sided with the companies. On Friday, Judge Jamar K. Walker of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia issued a preliminary injunction that would allow the Virginia wind farm to continue construction while its developer, Dominion Energy, pursues its legal case against the stop-work order.

Separate federal judges this week have already issued preliminary injunctions that allowed two other projects — Revolution Wind, off Rhode Island and Empire Wind, off New York — to restart construction.

Read the full article at The New York Times