Dominion Energy has halted some construction on its massive offshore wind project off the coast of Virginia to allow endangered whales to migrate through the area in the winter.
The 176-turbine project will be the largest offshore wind farm in U.S. waters if completed on schedule in 2026, at a cost of nearly $10 billion. So far, Dominion Energy has installed 78 steel turbine foundations and four offshore substation foundations in its federal lease area, which is located 27 miles off the Virginia coast.
The Richmond utility has paused further foundation installation — which requires hammering steel structures into the seafloor — until May 1 to allow endangered North Atlantic right whales to migrate through the area with less noise disturbance.
The right whale was nearly driven extinct from whaling in the late 1800s and has never fully recovered. Its 2023 population was roughly 370 individuals, according to the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium.
