Two of the offshore wind turbines which have been constructed off the coast of Virginia Beach, Va. are viewed June 29, 2020. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)
A Dominion executive told investors last week that President Donald Trump’s tariffs had already added $4 million to the cost of a major wind farm project off the coast of Virginia and could end up adding a total of $500 million to the project.
Dominion Energy projects that President Donald Trump’s tariffs will add $500 million to the cost of a major Virginia offshore wind project that the energy giant expects to complete by the end of 2026.
Trump’s tariff policies have already added $4 million to the costs of Dominion’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, a 176-turbine wind farm being built about 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. Dominion executives shared the impact of Trump’s tariffs and the uncertainty they are creating on a May 1 earnings call.
“Of course, changes to future tariff policy could affect these estimates,” Bob Blue, Dominion’s CEO, said on the call, according to a transcript published by Seeking Alpha.
The added costs are being driven by Trump’s 25% tariffs on steel; his 25% tariffs on many goods from Mexico and Canada; and a 10% tariff on non-steel products from the European Union, Dominion said.
However, it’s unclear how long these tariffs will be in place given Trump has already rolled some back, before introducing new ones. On Tuesday, Trump met with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, though there was no indication the Oval Office talks would lead to a change in tariff policy.
Dominion’s wind project is currently 55% finished and is expected to begin delivering electricity to Dominion customers early next year. The project has been projected to cost $10.7 billion, but if Trump’s tariffs remain in place, then the figure would be $11.2 billion, Dominion said.
Dominion is not the first company to blame Trump’s tariffs for business challenges in Virginia. Last month, Volvo blamed Trump’s tariffs for the auto manufacturer’s decision to lay off up to 350 people in Southwest Virginia.
In a sign of how seriously Virginia leaders are taking the ongoing and expected impacts of Trump’s tariffs, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin said last week the tariffs were part of the reason why he wanted to set aside $900 million in the state budget as a financial cushion for any potential economic fallout.
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