Posted on September 8, 2025
Trump Administration announces millions of dollars in cuts to offshore wind projects with two major projects in Virginia.
On Friday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that the Norfolk Offshore Wind Logistics Port, otherwise known as the Fairwinds Landing renovation project in Virginia’s Hampton Roads region, would have its over $39 million in federal funding withdrawn. Work has already begun on that project. He also announced the termination of $20 million for the Portsmouth Marine Terminal (PMT) Offshore Wind Development Project, which has already been spent.
“Wasteful wind projects are using resources that could otherwise go towards revitalizing America’s maritime industry,” Duffy said in the announcement. “Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg bent over backwards to use transportation dollars for their Green New Scam agenda while ignoring the dire needs of our shipbuilding industry.”
It is not clear how much of that funding for the Fairwinds Landing project has been spent already and how much would have to be returned to the federal government. A representative for the Norfolk Economic Development Authority said they have supported the effort to request for reconsideration on the cut. They also said the project will positively support the local economy and the U.S. Navy’s shipbuilding needs.
“Our revised project scope of work, which was submitted to the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) in mid-August in response to their request, will help restore America’s maritime dominance by focusing on rebuilding America’s shipbuilding and maritime industrial base in line with MARAD’s current priorities. We look forward to working with MARAD to utilize the (Port Infrastructure Development Program) funds at Fairwinds to address critical port upgrades that support its goals,” Mia Byrd Wilson, a spokeswoman for the Norfolk Department of Economic Development, said.
The PMT project was billed as an effort to upgrade the terminal to be a staging area for offshore wind infrastructure buildouts, such as the nearly $11 billion Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, which is over halfway completed. The overall PMT project cost $223 million and was completed in March. The federal funds had been awarded in 2022.
“The Port of Virginia has completed the improvements made to Portsmouth Marine Terminal and as a result, the deep-water terminal is fully functional, ” Port of Virginia spokesman Joseph Harris said. “The federal government’s Port Infrastructure Development Program grant was integral to the success of this project because funds from that program helped offset some of the improvement costs. The PMT project was delivered on time and on budget; thus, this port has no unobligated federal funds.”
The Dominion project did not have any federal grants, John Larson with Dominion said in the meeting. With the PMT renovations already finished to allow for the staging of pylons for the wind turbines, the project should continue as planned. The 2.6 gigawatt offshore wind project is anticipated to come online in 2026.
“You know, we’re continuing to move forward and focus on the project,” Larson said. “If you look at the president’s comments, he stated that, you know, companies that were doing well with their projects, that were far along, they’re going to take hard reviews. What does that mean?”
At a September 3 meeting, the Virginia Offshore Wind Authority discussed continuing to promote offshore wind projects, despite their newfound unpopularity on the federal level. With Virginia facing an energy crisis, the board said that an “all of the above” approach needs to include offshore wind as part of the puzzle of addressing the state’s needs.
“The political reality is that we need all of them because, based on who’s in office, energy projects change. Right now, SMRs and gas are popular; who knows? Next year, it can be back to renewables. We need to be developing all of it,” Virginia Maritime Association Senior Vice President Will Fediw said in the meeting.
Virginia’s federal lawmakers are also weighing in. Democratic Virginia Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, along with U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Newport News, said the efforts to withdraw funds from the Norfolk project are reckless and impact more than just offshore wind projects, as the funds for the port would have improved the port overall, including for shipbuilding, an industry critical to the nation’s economic and defense sectors.
“If the Administration took the time to learn about the project, it would realize that it is about investing in maritime supply chains and port infrastructure to support not only clean energy but also shipbuilding and ship repair. Stopping this project makes no sense, hurts our economy, and is completely counterproductive to the Administration’s so-called efforts to ‘restore America’s maritime dominance,’” the delegation said in a joint statement. “We will be working with our colleagues in Congress, state officials, and partners in the region to urge the Trump Administration to reverse its decision.”
