Norfolk development pivots from offshore wind, leans into shipbuilding
The Trump administration’s legal and regulatory assault on the offshore wind industry has led to a major Norfolk waterfront development pivoting away from the industry to double down on shipbuilding, project and development officials say.
Fairwinds Landing, a $500 million redevelopment project that has transformed the former Lamberts Point Docks site, is using the shipbuilding industry to attempt to win back a $39 million grant related to offshore wind that was canceled by the U.S. Department of Transportation in September.
“Strengthening and expanding the maritime industrial base in Hampton Roads has always been central to our strategic vision for Fairwinds Landing,” said Mike Hopkins, Fairwinds Landing managing director, in an emailed statement. “We revised our project to align closely with the U.S. Maritime Administration’s Port Infrastructure Development Program priority to implement the policies set forth in President Trump’s mandate to restore America’s maritime dominance.”
The move comes after Trump’s administration announced it was canceling or withdrawing from $679 million in projects related to the offshore wind industry in September. In his second term, Trump has launched a broadside against the industry, paying companies to abandon offshore wind farm leases and attempting to halt projects under construction, including Dominion Energy’s 2.6-gigawatt farm near Virginia Beach.
Dominion later successfully secured a preliminary injunction that allows construction to continue while a lawsuit is heard in federal court.
To align with the Trump’s administration’s goals of increasing shipbuilding capacity, the Norfolk Department of Economic Development plans to resubmit the canceled DOT grant by June 1, said Norfolk economic development official Bob Sharak.
The revamped $45 million grant, which also includes a $45 million match in private funds, includes one component from the previous grant — heavy lift cargo berth improvements — while removing offshore wind cable berth improvements and a floating pier. The berth will be used to help ship enormous aircraft carrier parts built at Fairwinds up to Newport News, Sharak said.
“Most of the grant is very similar because there really wasn’t as much purely offshore wind (in the previous grant),” Sharak said.
The heavy lift berth was going to pull double duty when Fairwinds was looking to land an offshore wind manufacturer as a tenant.
“Frankly, those projects have dried up,” Sharak said. “But, there’s a lot of interest from the DOD-type community and other folks that need access to both rail and barge.”
The new grant application also includes industrial berth improvements, a bulkhead replacement, a timber pier for unmanned vessel operations and replacement of a fendering system.
“The proposed project will increase the port infrastructure capacity and capabilities needed to drive growth in distributed modular shipbuilding, uncrewed maritime systems, and other maritime industries in Hampton Roads by constructing 1500 feet of new specialized berths and restoring 3000 feet of existing berths,” Hopkins said in the statement.
Sharak said the economic development department and Fairwinds have had grant discussions with the DOT’s United States Maritime Administration and were encouraged by the response.
In addition to the offshore manufacturer not coming to Fairwinds, the nascent industry was dealt another blow in late 2023 when turbine manufacturer Siemens-Gamesa pulled out of a $200 million turbine blade facility in Portsmouth. The site eventually became a staging area for Dominion Energy’s wind farm.
However, another project related to offshore wind — a huge $681 million underwater cable manufacturing facility in Chesapeake that will become the tallest building in Virginia — recently began vertical construction.
Trevor Metcalfe, 757-222-5345, trevor.metcalfe@pilotonline.com