Global Courant 2023-05-06 13:50:47
A multibillion-dollar energy developer has transferred tens of thousands of dollars to the campaign of Democratic Virginia Senator Tim Kaine in recent years while aggressively pushing a massive offshore wind project.
Dominion Energy’s Political Action Committee (PAC), based in Richmond, Virginia, has funneled $23,000 to Kaine for Virginia since 2011, with the last contribution of $1,500 in February. During that same period, Dominion Energy gave an additional $44,500 to Common Ground PAC, the lead PAC affiliated with and chaired by Kaine.
As of 2021, Dominion Energy executives led by CEO Robert Blue and Senior Vice President William Murray have donated $19,600 to Kaine’s campaign. At the same time, lobbyists contracted by Dominion paid a total of $3,000 to the campaign.
“Dominion Energy believes in full transparency of its political donations,” Dominion Energy spokesperson Ryan Frazier told Fox News Digital in an email. “We care about a bipartisan mix of state and federal leaders and have supported Senator Kaine since his bid for lieutenant governor in 2001, after he was mayor of the city Dominion Energy calls home.”
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Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., speaking at a 2021 Senate hearing. (Susan Walsh/AP Photo/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Dominion Energy continues to trudge ahead with plans to develop Virginia’s first offshore wind farm. Known as Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) and located along the southeast coast of the state near Virginia Beach, the project consists of two operational pilot wind turbines and is on track to be fully constructed by 2026 with 176-205 turbines on 112,800 acres.
Kaine was a vocal supporter of the project, which would become the largest offshore wind development in the entire country, and urged federal regulators to speed up the permitting process and successfully win millions of dollars in funding for supporting projects.
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“We are proud to have the first two wind turbines permitted and built in federal waters off the coast of our Commonwealth producing clean energy for Virginians,” Kaine and other Virginia lawmakers wrote in a March 2021 letter to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), demands faster approval from CVOW.
“Unfortunately, we have learned from local stakeholders and supporters that the adjacent CVOW project is at risk of being delayed due to the backlog at BOEM,” the letter continues. “Please provide any additional information that will help us fully understand the challenges facing BOEM and how you plan to accelerate the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project.”
Offshore wind turbines are pictured in July 2022 near Block Island, RI (John Moore/Getty Images)
Less than four months after the letter was sent, BOEM published its letter of intent, kicking off the environmental review of the process.
“I am excited to see this project underway as it is an exciting step toward a clean energy economy that creates good jobs in the Commonwealth,” Kaine said in a statement included in a Dominion July 2021 Energy Press Release. “I will continue to push for clean energy investments in Virginia to boost our economy and build a more sustainable future.”
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Then, in December 2021, Kaine announced that he and fellow Democratic Senator Mark Warner had secured $20 million in federal funding for improvements to the Portsmouth Marine Terminal, enabling it to serve as a staging area to support the construction and development of CVOW . He said the grant would “go a long way in establishing Virginia as a hub for offshore wind energy development.”
In the final development for the project, BOEM published a draft environmental impact statement for the project that supported the company’s proposal and paved the way for final approval.
Dominion Energy’s headquarters in Richmond, Virginia, pictured in 2020. (Zach Gibson/Getty Images)
However, a spokesperson for Kaine said campaign contributions had no bearing on his decision-making or the projects he supports.
“Senator Kaine makes decisions based on his own research and conscience, based on his intense listening to Virginians,” a spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “Since 2011, Senator Kaine has raised more than $40 million from more than 100,000 donors. Donations do not influence his decisions.”
In addition, offshore wind development has faced increasing setbacks in recent months due to the potential negative impacts on marine animals such as endangered whales, commercial fishing, shipping and maritime communications. The Pentagon also warned that offshore wind projects could hinder naval operations.
Senator Tim Kaine has backed Dominion Energy’s offshore wind development after drawing thousands from the company’s political action committee. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images | Mark Harrington/Newsday RM via Getty Images)
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“Offshore wind enjoys bipartisan support in Virginia and federally,” said Frazier, Dominion Energy’s spokesperson. “Offshore wind legislation in Virginia was overwhelmingly passed. The project is designed to address potential impacts on shipping lanes, commercial fishing activities, marine life and more.
“The company has engaged the US military and commercial fishermen since development of the project began,” he added. “And the federal permitting process takes into account all environmental impacts. The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project will create jobs and economic opportunity and clean energy for the Commonwealth of Virginia. It’s a win for everyone.”
Thomas Catenacci is a political writer for Fox News Digital.
