By Steve Haner,

As it becomes clear that the 90-day pause of the Dominion Energy Virginia offshore wind project is probably its final death rattle, the folks who encouraged the Trump Administration to kill it are looking to shift the blame to outgoing Virginia Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin. 

One of the organizations that filed a federal lawsuit against the project, a lawsuit that itself proved to be a futile exercise, is promoting a letter it sent the governor demanding he rescind his previous support for the $11.2 billion facility, which was just about to enter its final stage of construction when the federal pause order came down just before Christmas. 

The National Legal and Policy Center was joined in the lawsuit by the Committee for a Construction Tomorrow (CFACT) and the Heartland Institute.  All have been dancing a joyous victory jig on the project’s watery grave for about two weeks, although the Trump Administration’s pause order had nothing to do with the allegations of injury to the whales they had raised.  

Nobody with the utility, the Commonwealth of Virginia or the federal agencies involved has formally declared the project dead. The silence is deafening.  News reports indicate Dominion is telling the federal court hearing its challenge to the order that the federal government has refused to provide details on the supposed new national security threat it has identified.  The goal of the pause apparently was not to give the utility, and the developers of four similar projects elsewhere on the East Coast, a chance to look at how to mitigate that “risk” after all.  More should be clear after a hearing on January 16.

As all this unfolds, this policy group wants Youngkin to do a public mea culpa:

“As you prepare to conclude your term, you have a final, critical opportunity to protect the Commonwealth’s economic future from a looming catastrophe. On behalf of Falls Church-based National Legal and Policy Center (“NLPC”) and the hundreds of thousands of Virginia ratepayers we represent through our advocacy for corporate integrity, I urge you to formally withdraw your support for Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (“CVOW”) project,” the group’s chairman writes in the letter dated Friday.

Youngkin was a major proponent of the project, as was reported on Bacon’s Rebellion long ago.  The Youngkin Administration and outgoing Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares were crucial in saving the project in late 2022, when the State Corporation Commission sought to impose a performance agreement on the utility and the company said it would be a deal-killer.  The consumer protection provision disappeared in the final settlement.

The idea that Youngkin can now do anything about the impact this cancellation would have on Dominion’s 2.8 million customers, or the state’s overall economy, is absurd.  His term ends in a week. The real purpose of the letter is probably to fully tag Youngkin with the political fallout that is going to spread as consumers realize they face years (decades?) of monthly payments on a failed project.

And there is an obvious knife buried in the letter text aimed at any future political role for the governor, still popular with many: 

“As you leave office, there is speculation about how you can best serve our nation in the future. You cannot claim to oppose high taxation, support deregulation, and sing the praises of the free-enterprise system if your legacy is the largest offshore wind farm in the United States. Energy is called the “master resource” for a reason. It is fundamental to all economic activity….

“Dominion’s massive political contributions to both Democrats and Republican have corrupted the political system in Virginia, allowing for projects like CVOW, which make no economic or environmental sense…There is no reason for you to continue to carry their water. This is your last chance to disassociate yourself from the CVOW folly.”

MAGA says thanks for your service, Glenn. 

The key question now is whether the federal taxpayers will take the hit over the cancellation of this project, ending or reducing the financial penalty to Dominion’s ratepayers or shareholders.  The sooner the issue shifts to that focus, the better.  If the Trump Administration imposes a stall all the way to 2028, which it easily can, the project just becomes that much more ridiculously expensive. 

The secondary question is whether the Virginia General Assembly will amend the Virginia Clean Economy Act to relieve the mandate that Dominion buy about 8-10 million renewable energy certificates per year to make up for the “green” power it will not be getting from the turbines.  Yeah, that’s going to happen.