20-05-2025
Virginia Republican bucks her party, Trump on offshore wind
VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia — A House Republican from a swing district here has been one of the most vocal in her party to support the imperiled offshore wind industry and green energy tax credits — while many in the GOP are seeking to hobble both.
Rep. Jen Kiggans, whose seat is a top target for Democrats, has long championed the 176-turbine Dominion Energy-operated offshore wind project, dubbed Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind. It is more than halfway complete and on track to power 660,000 homes. The company says it stands to reap hundreds of millions of dollars in tax credits in the coming years.
'I'm protective of what I have going on here,' Kiggans said at an April event that brought together a host of officials and energy industry executives.
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'I am who I am as the representative of a district who has an offshore wind project, that has some solar panel projects that is in a Commonwealth where we believe in 'all of the above.''
Kiggans has raised her profile in recent weeks as the leader of a group of Republicans fighting to protect some renewable energy tax credits from the Democrats' 2022 climate law from elimination in the GOP's budget reconciliation package. The group suggested 'three thoughtful changes,' though did not seek to reverse a phase-out of wind credits.
And while she has stopped short of saying she'd tank the wider tax cut, energy and security spending package, Kiggans has talked directly to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) about her concerns.
Last week, however, she seemed to acknowledge that the best hope for saving many of the Inflation Reduction Act's tax credits likely rests with the Senate. And even deeper cuts might be in the offing after hard-liners said recently they had reached a rough understanding with Johnson.
Kiggans, a 53-year-old former Navy helicopter pilot and nurse, has won praise from the right-leaning group Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES), whose president has called her a 'strong advocate.'
Most other Republican support for wind has wound down. Indeed, many in her party have blasted offshore wind, citing a newfound concern for whales and other maritime species.
A leader of the congressional offshore wind caucus even denounced the industry during his failed reelection campaign. More recently, Trump ordered permits to be reviewed for projects and placed a stop-work order on a New York wind project that is 30 percent complete. And Dominion said that tariffs the administration slapped on steel has raised the cost of the project by $4 million.
Kiggans, who remains a member of the wind caucus, has not wavered. Two days after Trump — on his first day in office — issued an executive order targeting offshore wind approvals, Kiggans testified at the House Ways and Means Committee in support of the industry and clean energy tax credits.
She cited economic growth, jobs and the fact that the wind project would benefit the Navy, which has a base in Norfolk, just outside her district.
'Speak that love language'
Last month, Kiggans joined a panel of wind, solar and gas industry executives and state regulators at Tidewater Community College in Virginia Beach for an event hosted by CRES, which has pressed Republicans to support renewable energy.
'Here in Virginia, it's been easy for me to be an advocate for things like clean energy tax credits,' she said. 'Because we have a governor who believes in an all-of-the-above energy approach and has really set a great stage for us,'
The second-term lawmaker exudes a no-nonsense attitude. She connects her support for clean energy to her ardent backing of the military, which has a major presence in Virginia's second district.
Kiggans often notes that Dominion Energy entered a public-private partnership with the Naval Air Station Oceana, one of two master jet bases in the country.
'I want the energy and an all-of-the-above approach because my defense industry needs it,' she said on stage at the event. 'I think as a country, this is a priority. The world is not safe. We were given a world — that we inherited from the last administration — that in my opinion made the world less safe and we looked weak on the world stage.'
Wind turbines off the coast of Virginia associated with the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project. | Francis Chung/POLITICO
As Kiggans sees it, the 'onus' is on her to speak to those in her party in favor of clean energy.
'I think we know best how to speak that love language to the people who are leading the country right now,' she said. 'So it's important we use our voices.'
But her voice is up against Trump, whose administration last month issued a stop-work order on the Empire Wind project off the coast of Long Island.
The Norwegian energy company Equinor had said in recent days the project could soon be canceled. The administration reversed course Monday, lifting the order, but concerns persist.
Dominion executives don't seem worried. On a recent shareholder earnings call, company CEO Robert Blue said the project was 55 percent complete. He said the first delivery of electricity to customers was on track for early 2026. Of the 176 turbine foundations, 80 percent have been completed.
On that call, Chief Financial Officer Steven Ridge said the IRA subsidies will save the company roughly $175 million companywide each year through 2029.
But even if the IRA tax credits for wind energy are indeed phased out, Dominion says its massive project will be completed.
'Power demand is growing at historic levels, and no single power source can reliably serve it,' a spokesperson said in an email. 'We need more power generation from every source, including renewables, natural gas and nuclear.'
Pushing GOP leaders, Trump
Kiggans speaking with reporters in 2023 at the Capitol. | Alex Brandon/AP
Kiggans and her colleagues are still hoping to sway Johnson and House leaders, though time is running out. Last week, she and others approached him on the House floor to request a meeting about the IRA.
'It's always nice when we get together and remind Speaker Johnson of how great it is that we're in the majority and who it is that gives him the majority and gives him his job,' she said of the floor discussion. 'It's people like myself in really tough purple districts who have a variety of interests.'
Still, Kiggans suggested the fight might be all but over in the House. 'I think our leadership provides some backbone to what the Senate will want to do,' she said of the IRA defenders. 'I think the Senate has a little more of an appetite.'
As for the Trump administration, Kiggans says she's made connections with White House officials for other matters and intends to rely on those relationships.
'We can pick up the phone and say, 'Please consider this is important to my district,'' she said. Kiggans has not done that for clean energy projects yet, but she said that 'it's nice to know those communications channels are there for us to use.'
Asked if she feared a primary challenger for defending renewable energy, Kiggans waved off the question.
'People can run for office as they want,' she said. 'I wake up every day just trying to do the best job I can for the district with my backgrounds in military, and defense, and health care and being a mom of four.'
She continued to suggest if Republicans don't step up, we'll end up with more 'Green New Deals.'
'Republicans would be smart if we were able to lead on this issue because otherwise the other side will come in and lead,' she said. 'And we're not going to like the direction they are going to take it.'
Reporters Nico Portuondo and Benjamin Storrow contributed.
