A Norfolk maritime facility tied to the region’s nascent offshore wind industry plans to shift part of its operational plans after President Donald Trump’s administration killed a $39 million grant.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced late last month his agency was withdrawing from or terminating $679 million in funding for 12 projects related to offshore wind energy.
The canceled funding includes a $39 million grant for Fairwinds Landing, a $500 million-plus maritime facility in Norfolk’s Lamberts Point connected to shipbuilding, ship repair and offshore wind.
Fairwinds Landing leaders are now asking the Department of Transportation’s U.S. Maritime Administration, or MARAD, to reconsider the cuts, said Mike Hopkins, the project’s managing director.
“Our revised project, which we recently submitted to MARAD in response to their request, will help restore America’s maritime dominance and focuses on rebuilding America’s shipbuilding and maritime industrial base in line with MARAD’s current priorities,” Hopkins said in an emailed statement.
Hopkins did not elaborate on how the project had changed and did not respond to an email asking for details.
The list also included a termination of $20 million in upgrades to the Portsmouth Marine Terminal to convert the space into a deep-water terminal currently being used as a staging area for Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project. However, Port of Virginia spokesman Joe Harris said the money from the grant has already been spent on the upgrades.
“The federal government’s Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) grant was integral to the success of this project because funds from that program helped offset some of the improvement costs,” Harris said in a statement.
Harris said the port had received no response from the Department of Transportation yet about already spending the funding. It’s unclear if the DOT will expect the money to be returned or if the cancellation was made in error. A DOT representative did not immediately return a request for comment.
Fairwinds Landing is expected to create 750 jobs, project leaders said in September 2023. The Miller Group, led by longtime Hampton Roads businessman Jerry Miller, is leading a business partnership to develop the site. The site includes an offshore wind monitoring and coordination center for Dominion Energy’s Virginia Beach wind farm and storage space for ship parts from Newport News Shipbuilding, among other features.
A representative for Huntington Ingalls Industries, whose Newport News Shipbuilding facility uses Fairwinds to store ship parts and plans to use the facility more in the future, did not respond to a request for comment.
The Department of Transportation announcement drew sharp criticism from Virginia Democrats, including Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine and 3rd District Rep. Bobby Scott, who said the project is one that would help the Trump administration accomplish its goal of reestablishing American maritime dominance.
U.S. Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-2nd, who previously expressed support for offshore wind, did not respond to a request for comment. Kiggans is a member of the House Conservative Climate Caucus, which aims to educate GOP members on the fiscally conservative benefits of clean energy. She also met with Dominion Energy leaders and voiced support for the wind farm earlier this year.
Earlier this month, Democratic candidate for governor Abigail Spanberger released a statement criticizing the withdrawal of funding.
“The Trump administration’s sledgehammer approach to governing is hurting Virginia — from firing thousands of federal workers to slashing federal funds for critical projects across our Commonwealth,” Spanberger said.
Spanberger’s opponent in the race, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, did not respond to a request for comment.
Trevor Metcalfe (757) 222-5345
trevor.metcalfe@pilotonline.com
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