Dec. 23, 2025 — Dominion Energy, Inc. stock (NYSE: D) is under fresh pressure after a major federal intervention in the U.S. offshore wind buildout. Shares traded around $57.22 in early Dec. 23 activity, down roughly 3.7% from the prior close as investors digested a 90-day stop-work action that directly hits Dominion’s flagship Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project. [1]
For a company that’s often treated like a “steady utility with a dividend,” this is exactly the kind of headline that can jolt sentiment: it’s less about next quarter’s earnings and more about policy risk, construction timelines, and whether a multibillion-dollar regulated project can stay on schedule in a suddenly shifting political and regulatory landscape. [2]
What happened and why Dominion Energy is in the crosshairs
On Dec. 22 (with the market impact carrying into Dec. 23), the U.S. Department of the Interior announced it was pausing leases for all large-scale offshore wind projects under construction in the United States, citing national security risks tied to radar interference. The pause affects five major projects along the East Coast, including Dominion’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW), plus Vineyard Wind 1, Revolution Wind, Sunrise Wind, and Empire Wind. [3]
Federal officials said the “movement of massive turbine blades” and reflective towers can create radar “clutter,” potentially obscuring real targets or generating false ones—language that immediately raised the stakes beyond normal permitting disputes. [4]
That framing matters for investors because “national security” tends to be a regulatory trump card: it can justify abrupt process changes, extend timelines, or escalate conflicts into court—none of which markets enjoy, especially for capital-heavy infrastructure already under construction. [5]
Why CVOW is a big deal for Dominion Energy stock
Dominion’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project is not a side quest. It’s designed to be 2.6 gigawatts, widely described as the largest U.S. offshore wind project, and Dominion has previously pointed to late 2026 for full operation. Public reporting has also pegged project cost around $10.9 billion, up from earlier estimates. [6]
The project sits roughly 27 to 44 miles offshore, and Dominion has emphasized that its two pilot turbines have operated for about five years, arguing the wind buildout has been coordinated with the military and should not be treated as a surprise risk. [7]
Those details matter because the market’s first question isn’t philosophical (“Is offshore wind good?”) but brutally practical:
- Does the pause push the project past key construction windows?
- Do delays raise costs again?
- Will regulators allow Dominion to recover those costs from customers?
- Does the federal action morph into a longer freeze or litigation marathon? [8]
Dominion’s response: reliability, jobs, and the Virginia data center load boom
Dominion responded forcefully, calling CVOW “essential” to meeting Virginia’s fast-rising electricity needs and linking the project to national security, military facilities, shipbuilding, and the concentration of data centers supporting AI-driven computing growth. The company also warned that stopping the project “for any length of time” risks grid reliability, threatens jobs, and could contribute to higher energy costs. [9]
That messaging isn’t just PR. It’s aimed directly at the heart of Dominion’s investment case: Virginia’s demand growth—especially from data centers—is forcing the utility into a massive build cycle of generation, transmission, and reliability investments. [10]
Market reaction: a utility stock meets political risk
The stock move reflects a classic market reflex: when uncertainty spikes, valuation often compresses first, details later.
Coverage following the Interior action described Dominion shares dropping alongside other offshore-wind-exposed names, while some analysts argued the project is still likely to be completed—partly because regulated structures can keep financing intact even when headlines get ugly. [11]
A key nuance for Dominion investors: CVOW is regulated, and commentary in the financial press noted that customers are already funding the project under existing regulatory constructs, which can reduce the risk of a total financial wipeout compared with a purely merchant power project. [12]
That said, “regulated” does not mean “risk-free.” Regulators can still scrutinize prudency, disallow certain costs, or become more aggressive if political backlash grows—especially if delays inflate the final bill. [13]
The wider Dominion Energy outlook: renewables, gas reliability, and a fast-growing load forecast
Dominion’s story going into late 2025 was already a high-wire act: meet clean-energy mandates, keep the grid reliable, and build fast enough to serve a demand curve being pulled upward by data centers.
Solar and storage push
Dominion has been seeking regulatory approval for a large slate of solar and battery storage projects—described as 11 projects totaling about $2.9 billion—as it tries to align with Virginia’s clean-energy targets while adding capacity. [14]
Gas backup and regulatory friction
At the same time, Dominion’s reliability strategy has included proposals for new natural gas “peaker” plants. One of the most closely watched is the Chesterfield Energy Reliability Center, which has faced organized opposition and a developing regulatory fight. In mid-December, Virginia regulators suspended their approval to allow more time to consider an appeal challenging the project on environmental justice and reliability-analysis grounds. [15]
This matters for the stock because it shows Dominion is being tugged in two directions at once:
- Build low-carbon generation and storage
- Also build dispatchable generation to meet reliability standards and peak demand
Investors typically like regulated “rate base growth,” but they dislike when the path to that growth becomes legally and politically messy. [16]
Dominion Energy fundamentals: what the company does and where it earns
Dominion Energy is fundamentally a regulated utility operator. Reuters’ company overview notes Dominion provides regulated electric service to about 3.6 million homes and businesses across Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, plus regulated natural gas service to about 500,000 customers in South Carolina, with additional contracted-energy operations. [17]
That regulated foundation is why many shareholders own D stock in the first place: earnings and cash flows are typically more predictable than cyclical industrials—until policy shocks hit major capital projects.
Earnings guidance and the long-term growth narrative
In its third-quarter 2025 results, Dominion reported operating earnings (non-GAAP) of $1.06 per share for the quarter and narrowed its 2025 operating earnings guidance to $3.33 to $3.48 per share, while keeping the midpoint at $3.40 and stating it expected to land at or above the midpoint assuming normal weather. [18]
Dominion also reaffirmed its longer-term target of 5% to 7% operating EPS growth through 2029, anchored off the 2025 midpoint (excluding certain items). [19]
For stock watchers on Dec. 23, the key question is whether the offshore wind pause threatens that growth arc. The near-term EPS guide is unlikely to change solely on a 90-day pause—but prolonged disruption could influence capital timing, financing costs, and regulatory outcomes that feed the multiyear story.
Analyst forecasts and price targets: where Wall Street stands now
On the forecasting side, consensus trackers show analysts generally in “wait-and-see” mode even before the offshore wind headline.
StockAnalysis, for example, lists a consensus rating of Hold with an average price target around $64.75, with published targets ranging roughly from $59 to $70 (based on the analysts it tracks). It also shows recent rating actions in December including Barclays maintaining a Buy stance while nudging its target up, and JP Morgan maintaining a more cautious view with a reduced target. [20]
A separate Nasdaq-hosted note referencing Fintel data also pointed to an average target in the mid-$60s, underscoring that while analysts vary, the “center of gravity” has been above the high-$50s where the stock traded after the pause news hit. [21]
Important context: price targets are not promises. They’re often expressions of “base-case” assumptions about regulation, cost recovery, and capital execution—exactly the assumptions being stress-tested by the offshore wind pause.
Dividend watch: what income investors are looking at
Dividend stability is a major reason Dominion remains on many watchlists.
TipRanks lists Dominion’s most recent quarterly dividend at $0.667 per share, with an ex-dividend date of Dec. 5, 2025 and a payment date of Dec. 20, 2025, translating to a dividend yield in the mid-4% range based on recent prices. [22]
Dominion has also reiterated “credit and dividend guidance” alongside its earnings guidance updates, reinforcing the company’s effort to keep the income narrative intact even amid heavy capital spending. [23]
For dividend-focused investors, the offshore wind pause introduces a new variable—not necessarily to the next payment, but to the long-run cost of capital and the political/regulatory environment that ultimately supports utility cash flows.
A quieter but important detail: not every offshore wind dollar is guaranteed
One detail from Dominion’s own financial disclosures is easy to miss but relevant on a day like Dec. 23: in its Q3 materials, Dominion referenced regulated asset retirements and other charges and noted $112 million associated with Virginia Power’s share of costs not expected to be recovered from customers on the CVOW Commercial project. [24]
That does not mean the whole project is at risk. It does mean investors should avoid the simplistic assumption that “regulated = 100% cost recovery, no exceptions.” In contentious projects, the edges matter.
What to watch next for Dominion Energy stock after Dec. 23
The big catalysts from here are almost all about timelines and process—very normal for a utility, and very stressful for a market.
The 90-day clock and possible extensions
Dominion says the suspension is for 90 days, but investors will watch closely for signals it could be extended, modified, or narrowed based on mitigation plans. [25]
Legal and administrative maneuvering
Industry coverage has already flagged the likelihood of legal challenges and highlighted how the federal government has shifted tactics after earlier court setbacks on offshore wind policy. [26]
Utility Dive also reported that in litigation involving CVOW, the parties sought a stay while Interior considered whether a remand would be appropriate, with a requested timeline running into early 2026—another reminder that “90 days” on paper can blur in practice once agencies and courts get involved. [27]
Virginia’s load growth and the build plan
Even if offshore wind is delayed, Virginia’s demand outlook doesn’t pause. Dominion’s broader pipeline—solar, storage, transmission, and dispatchable capacity—will continue to shape how investors model rate-base growth and future returns. [28]
Bottom line on Dec. 23, 2025: Dominion Energy stock is trading like a regulated utility that just got a sharp dose of federal policy uncertainty. The next phase isn’t about a single headline—it’s about whether the offshore wind pause stays temporary, how cost and schedule risks evolve, and whether Dominion can keep its long-term growth and dividend narrative intact while building enough capacity for Virginia’s accelerating electricity demand. [29]
References
1. www.reuters.com, 2. www.reuters.com, 3. www.reuters.com, 4. www.reuters.com, 5. www.washingtonpost.com, 6. virginiabusiness.com, 7. virginiabusiness.com, 8. www.utilitydive.com, 9. www.businesswire.com, 10. www.whro.org, 11. www.barrons.com, 12. www.barrons.com, 13. investors.dominionenergy.com, 14. www.whro.org, 15. www.vpm.org, 16. www.vpm.org, 17. www.reuters.com, 18. news.dominionenergy.com, 19. news.dominionenergy.com, 20. stockanalysis.com, 21. www.nasdaq.com, 22. www.tipranks.com, 23. investors.dominionenergy.com, 24. investors.dominionenergy.com, 25. news.dominionenergy.com, 26. apnews.com, 27. www.utilitydive.com, 28. www.whro.org, 29. www.reuters.com
