Dominion Energy, Inc. (NYSE: D) stock took an uncharacteristically sharp hit on December 22, 2025, sliding roughly 5%–6% into the mid‑$50s as Washington put the brakes on the U.S. offshore wind buildout—right in the middle of construction. [1]
Utilities usually trade like slow-moving planets: predictable gravity, modest drama. Today was different. The reason wasn’t earnings, a dividend cut, or a surprise rate case loss. It was policy risk colliding with a $11-ish billion megaproject that Dominion has positioned as a cornerstone of Virginia’s energy future.
Below is what happened, what the key headlines and analysts are saying as of 22.12.2025, and what to watch next if you follow Dominion Energy stock.
What happened on Dec. 22, 2025: U.S. pauses offshore wind leases, including Dominion’s CVOW
The U.S. Department of the Interior said it is pausing—effective immediately—leases for all large-scale offshore wind projects under construction in the United States, citing national security risks identified in classified reports and pointing to potential radar interference (“clutter”) from turbine blades and reflective towers. [2]
Interior’s announcement specifically listed five projects whose leases are paused:
- Vineyard Wind 1
- Revolution Wind
- Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) – Commercial
- Sunrise Wind
- Empire Wind 1 [3]
For Dominion Energy stockholders, the market focus snapped immediately to CVOW, because it’s one of the largest offshore wind projects in the country and a signature investment Dominion has repeatedly tied to long-term load growth in Virginia. [4]
Is it a 90-day pause or open-ended?
Here’s where the day’s reporting matters:
- Dominion said the suspension is for 90 days, according to a Reuters-sourced report carried by Virginia Business. [5]
- The federal announcement described a pause “effective immediately,” and AP reported the statement did not specify an end date. [6]
In other words: Dominion is treating it as time-boxed, while the federal posture (publicly) reads more open-ended.
Why Dominion Energy stock moved so much: CVOW is huge, regulated…and suddenly uncertain
The day’s coverage across Reuters, AP, Utility Dive, the Washington Post, Barron’s, and Scientific American converged on the same market logic:
- CVOW is big enough to matter
CVOW is a 2.6-gigawatt offshore wind project expected to come fully online in late 2026. [7] - It’s already under construction, so delays can get expensive fast
Even for regulated utilities, construction slowdowns can mean timeline risk, contractor/logistics reshuffling, and financing drag—especially when the “stop” is driven by Washington rather than weather or procurement. [8] - Policy risk is the one thing utilities can’t hedge with an operating tweak
Dominion can optimize operations. It can file rate cases. It can refinance debt. But when the federal government pauses leases mid-build, the variable becomes legal/regulatory—messier, slower, and harder for markets to price. [9]
Dominion pushed back hard, arguing the project is critical to national security and to Virginia’s rapidly growing power demand (including defense facilities and data centers), and warning that any stoppage could threaten grid reliability and jobs. [10]
Today’s key headlines and analyses impacting Dominion Energy stock
Here’s the December 22, 2025 news flow that investors following Dominion Energy (D) saw across major outlets:
- Reuters: U.S. pauses leases for five offshore wind projects over radar concerns; names CVOW among impacted projects. [11]
- U.S. Department of the Interior: Official press release announcing the pause, listing the five affected leases and describing radar “clutter.” [12]
- AP: Notes the administration cited Pentagon concerns; highlights critics saying the risks are overstated and points to legal friction after a judge struck down an earlier wind-blocking order. [13]
- Washington Post: Frames the move as a new tactic to halt projects already under construction; includes pushback from national security and clean-energy voices. [14]
- Utility Dive: Adds industry detail and project timelines (including expected in-service dates) and notes legal maneuvering around CVOW’s lease. [15]
- Scientific American: Emphasizes the lack of public evidence for the asserted risks and points back to prior research on radar impacts and mitigation. [16]
- Barron’s: Ties Dominion’s stock drop directly to the pause and highlights analyst commentary suggesting CVOW’s regulated nature may cushion the blow. [17]
- Motley Fool: Focuses on why a “stodgy” utility stock plunged, pointing straight to the Interior announcement and investor overreaction debate. [18]
- Virginia Business (Reuters pickup): Adds Virginia-specific political reaction and cites Dominion’s view that the suspension is 90 days. [19]
That’s the full spine of “what moved the stock” on 22.12.2025: a single federal action, with a lot of downstream implications.
CVOW basics: size, timing, and why it’s central to Dominion’s investment story
From the reporting and industry summaries circulating today:
- Scale: ~2.6 GW (often described as the largest U.S. offshore wind project). [20]
- Target timing: expected to be fully online late 2026 (project timelines vary by outlet, but cluster around 2026). [21]
- Cost: about $10.9B per Virginia Business/Reuters reporting (often rounded to “about $11B”). [22]
Barron’s also underscored the market’s sensitivity to the project because it’s both large and politically exposed—a combination that can whipsaw sentiment even when the utility’s underlying operations remain steady. [23]
Dominion’s financial backdrop: guidance, long-term growth targets, and dividends
While today’s selloff was event-driven, investors still anchor on Dominion’s baseline financial trajectory.
2025 earnings guidance (as last updated)
Dominion reported Q3 2025 results and narrowed full-year 2025 operating earnings guidance to $3.33–$3.48 per share, keeping the midpoint at $3.40, and said it expects to be at or above the midpoint (assuming normal weather). [24]
Dominion also reaffirmed its long-term operating EPS growth target of 5%–7% through 2029 (off the 2025 midpoint, with an adjustment noted in the release). [25]
Dividend status
Dominion’s board declared a quarterly dividend of 66.75 cents per share, payable Dec. 20, 2025, to shareholders of record Dec. 5, 2025, and described it as the company’s 391st consecutive dividend. [26]
The company’s investor materials also note dividends are typically paid on the 20th of March, June, September, and December (as declared). [27]
Bottom line: today’s shock wasn’t about cash flow collapsing or a dividend surprise. It was about whether a keystone project gets delayed—and what that does to cost, schedule, and regulatory recovery.
Wall Street forecasts and price targets: “Hold” consensus, but meaningful dispersion
Analyst stance on Dominion has been broadly cautious/neutral even before today’s offshore wind news. Recent price-target chatter and research summaries cited in the market include:
- Evercore ISI: highlighted by Barron’s as maintaining a $67 target and emphasizing the project’s regulated/customer-backed nature. [28]
- JPMorgan: lowered its target to $59 and maintained an Underweight rating (Dec. 11, 2025), per a widely circulated research recap. [29]
- Morgan Stanley: trimmed a target from $65 to $62 while keeping an Equal Weight stance (Dec. 16, 2025), per analyst-note recaps. [30]
Separately, MarketBeat and similar market-recap services pointed to a “Hold” consensus and mid‑$60s average targets, while also noting unusually heavy call-option activity on Dec. 22. [31]
The practical takeaway for Dominion Energy stock watchers: analysts weren’t uniformly bullish even before the pause—which can make a negative catalyst feel heavier because there’s less “benefit-of-the-doubt” premium in the price.
The Virginia load-growth angle: data centers, politics, and who pays for new power
Dominion’s long-term narrative isn’t just renewables—it’s that Virginia’s electricity demand is growing fast, in large part due to data centers.
That demand story is also becoming a regulatory and political story:
- Utility Dive reported that Virginia regulators approved a new rate class aimed at large loads (including data centers), requiring 14‑year contracts for customers over 25 MW with high load factors, and also approved a rate hike Dominion estimated would raise a typical residential bill by $11.24/month in 2026 (though less than what Dominion requested). [32]
Why this matters to Dominion Energy stock: load growth is bullish, but only if the company can build and recover the cost of the build in a way regulators and voters tolerate. CVOW sits right at that intersection—big capital, politically visible, and now federally constrained.
What happens next: 3 scenarios investors are weighing for Dominion Energy (D)
No one gets a clean crystal ball today, but the market’s re-pricing suggests investors are mentally sorting outcomes like these:
1) “It’s brief” — pause ends, mitigation plan appears, construction resumes
If the pause is truly limited (Dominion’s 90‑day framing) and federal agencies identify workable mitigation steps, the market may treat today’s drop as a risk premium that can partially unwind. [33]
2) “It drags” — legal fights and federal reviews stretch timelines into 2027+
AP highlighted that today’s action follows a recent court ruling striking down a prior wind-blocking effort, implying continued legal conflict is likely. [34]
Utility Dive also noted ongoing legal maneuvering connected to CVOW’s lease review. [35]
Extended uncertainty is where cost escalation and financing friction become more plausible—especially if suppliers and contractors have to re-sequence major work.
3) “It changes the economics” — cost recovery becomes more contested
Dominion itself flags in its financial communications that projects like CVOW carry risks around timelines, cost estimates, and cost recovery from customers—risks that become more salient when federal action interrupts the build. [36]
Even if the regulated model is designed to recover prudently incurred costs, the politics of “who pays” can intensify when costs rise or schedules slip.
The quick read for Dominion Energy stock (NYSE:D) on 22.12.2025
- Catalyst: Federal lease pause for under-construction offshore wind projects. [37]
- Why Dominion got hit: CVOW is massive (2.6 GW), under construction, and politically exposed. [38]
- Company fundamentals haven’t changed overnight: 2025 operating EPS guidance remains $3.33–$3.48; dividend remains in place. [39]
- Analysts are split: price targets cluster from the high‑$50s to around $67, with many “Hold/Neutral” style stances. [40]
References
1. www.reuters.com, 2. www.doi.gov, 3. www.doi.gov, 4. www.doi.gov, 5. virginiabusiness.com, 6. apnews.com, 7. www.utilitydive.com, 8. www.reuters.com, 9. www.washingtonpost.com, 10. virginiabusiness.com, 11. www.reuters.com, 12. www.doi.gov, 13. apnews.com, 14. www.washingtonpost.com, 15. www.utilitydive.com, 16. www.scientificamerican.com, 17. www.barrons.com, 18. www.fool.com, 19. virginiabusiness.com, 20. www.utilitydive.com, 21. www.utilitydive.com, 22. virginiabusiness.com, 23. www.barrons.com, 24. investors.dominionenergy.com, 25. investors.dominionenergy.com, 26. news.dominionenergy.com, 27. investors.dominionenergy.com, 28. www.barrons.com, 29. www.nasdaq.com, 30. www.insidermonkey.com, 31. www.marketbeat.com, 32. www.utilitydive.com, 33. virginiabusiness.com, 34. apnews.com, 35. www.utilitydive.com, 36. investors.dominionenergy.com, 37. www.doi.gov, 38. www.utilitydive.com, 39. investors.dominionenergy.com, 40. www.barrons.com
