Dominion Energy, a prominent utility company and offshore wind developer serving Virginia’s bustling “data center alley,” has taken legal action against the Trump administration. The lawsuit, filed this week, challenges the administration’s decision to halt federal leases for major offshore wind projects, abruptly affecting five wind farms currently under construction. Among these projects is Dominion’s own Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind initiative.

The lawsuit, submitted on Tuesday, claims that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) recent issuance of a stop work order is both unlawful and “arbitrary and capricious.” Dominion asserts that this order violates constitutional principles meant to restrict executive actions. The company is seeking a federal court intervention to block BOEM from enforcing the order.

The company contends that the “sudden and baseless withdrawal of regulatory approvals by government officials” jeopardizes the ability to develop essential large-scale infrastructure projects required to accommodate the escalating energy demands in the United States.

In a press release dated December 22, Dominion reiterated the urgent need for electricity to power Virginia’s extensive data centers, which they noted are pivotal in the race for AI advancement. The state reportedly boasts the highest concentration of data centers globally.

The surge in demand for new data centers, driven by AI advancements, along with increased energy needs from manufacturing and the electrification of homes and vehicles, has significantly strained power grids. This has fueled a contentious debate over rising electricity costs in Virginia’s elections and in communities near data center projects nationwide. Dominion warns that any delay in the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind farm’s construction will escalate project costs, ultimately burdening consumers.

Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, who is named as one of the defendants in the suit, said that the 90-day pause on offshore wind leases would allow the agency to address national security risks, which were apparently recently identified in classified reports. The US Department of Interior also cited concerns about turbines creating radar interference.

“I want to know what’s changed?” national security expert and former Commander of the USS Cole Kirk Lippold told the Associated Press. “To my knowledge, nothing has changed in the threat environment that would drive us to stop any offshore wind programs.”

The Trump administration previously halted construction on the Revolution Wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island and Empire Wind project off the shore of New York before a federal judge and BOEM lifted stop work orders. Those projects have now been suspended again. President Donald Trump issued a presidential memorandum upon stepping into office in January withdrawing areas on the outer continental shelf from offshore wind leasing, which a federal judge struck down earlier this month for being “arbitrary and capricious.”

Dominion Energy says it had already obtained all the federal, state, and local approvals necessary for the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind farm, which broke ground in 2024. The company has already spent $8.9 billion to date on the $11.2 billion project that was expected to start generating power next year. Fully up and running, the offshore wind farm is supposed to have the capacity to produce 9.5 million megawatt-hours per year of carbon pollution-free electricity, about as much as 660,000 homes might use in the US.