Report: Wind Energy Executives Donate Tens of Thousands of Dollars to VA Democrat Sen. Tim Kaine

Energy executives behind the nation’s largest offshore wind development project have reportedly sent tens of thousands of dollars to the campaign fund of Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA).

Kaine, who was 2016 presidential candidate former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s running mate seven years ago, has been a strong advocate for Dominion Energy’s clean energy project known as Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW), as first reported by Fox News.

The project is scheduled to begin construction in 2024 and will consist of 176 turbines located 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach, according to the company’s website.

The project is estimated to provide clean, reliable energy to 660,000 homes.

Fox News Thomas Catenacci reports:

The Richmond, Virginia-based Dominion Energy’s political action committee (PAC) has funneled $23,000 to Kaine for Virginia since 2011, with the latest, a $1,500 contribution, coming in February. In that same time span, Dominion Energy has given another $44,500 to Common Ground PAC, the leadership PAC affiliated with and chaired by Kaine.

Since 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 who Dominion has contracted made payments totaling $3,000 to the campaign.

Kaine’s advocacy for the CVOW project includes securing $20 million in federal funding for the Portsmouth Marine Terminal–with the help of Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA)–back in December 2021. The funding would allow for improvements to the terminal, which would serve as a staging area for the construction and development process.

In March 2021, Kaine wrote a letter to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management for the quick approval of the CVOW, and four months after the letter was sent the federal agency published a notice of intent which initiated the agency’s environmental review.

Over 30 miles off Virginia Beach are Dominion Energy’s first two turbines, which will be part of their eventual wind farm. They are seen Sept. 27, 2021. (Stephen M. Katz/The Virginian-Pilot/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

A spokesperson told Fox News that donations do not have an effect on his decisions.

While experts report that offshore wind could meet at least 83 % of Virginia’s current electricity generation, the renewable energy source has posed concerns over its impact on marine wildlife such as endangered whale populations. Sean Hayes, chief of the protected species branch at NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center, warned ocean energy regulators that “additional noise, vessel traffic and habitat modifications due to offshore wind development will likely cause added stress to the populations.

The Pentagon has said the offshore windmills would be ““highly problematic” for key operations — in particular, flight training.”