Largest US offshore wind farm reveals Trump tariffs hit
Dominion says Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind set for $120m-plus impact by mid-year but doesn't expect to suffer fate of Empire Wind
America’s largest offshore wind project faces a hit of more than $120m from Donald Trump’s tariffs by the end of the current quarter – but doesn’t expect to suffer the fate of Empire Wind by being told to halt work.
Dominion Energy, which is in the middle of building the 2.6GW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) array, told investors that the giant project incurred $4m extra costs as a result of tariffs in the first quarter of the year, which could rise to $123m if the current US tariffs policy endures to the end of the current Q2.
The figure would swell to a whopping $500m if existing tariff arrangements – which include duties on imports from Canada, Mexico and EU, and a blanket 25% on steel – endured to the end of 2026, when CVOW is due to enter full service.
However, Dominion CEO Bob Blue emphasised that the tariffs situation is clouded by “ongoing uncertainty” over policy and “actual costs incurred are dependent upon the tariff requirements and rates, if any, at the time of delivery of the specific component”.
It added that an updated levelised cost of energy of $62/MWh "continues to benchmark very favourably with new generation alternatives, including solar, battery and gas fired generation".
“We don’t think it’s going to be paused… It’s the fastest way to get 2.6GW on the grid to serve tech companies, defence and security installations, important American industries like shipbuilding. It’s employing 2,000 people. Stopping it would cause energy inflation.”
Dominion said CVOW is around 55% complete and is about to resume monopile installation in the new weather window.
Company executives said the EU-based Siemens Gamesa, which is supplying the project’s wind turbines, is “either on track or a little bit ahead of schedule” while Charybdis, the company’s vast made-in-America installation vessel, is almost finished and on course to engage in turbine installation this summer.
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