March 18 (Reuters) - Three right-wing groups sued the

Biden administration on Monday over its approval of a wind

project off the coast of Virginia, alleging it failed to

consider the facility's impacts on endangered whales.

The federal lawsuit filed by the Heartland Institute,

Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT) and National Legal

and Policy Center seeks to stop the construction of Dominion

Energy Inc's ( D ) Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project

pending a new federal analysis of risks to the North Atlantic

right whale by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).

Developing offshore wind power is a major part of President

Joe Biden's strategy to decarbonize the U.S. power sector to

fight climate change. Both Heartland Institute and CFACT have

rejected the mainstream science showing that climate change is

driven by human use of fossil fuels. They have also criticized

offshore wind as expensive and unreliable.

The groups' lawsuit alleges that the NMFS analysis, known as

a biological opinion, did not adequately consider the combined

impacts of all the offshore wind projects planned along the

Atlantic coast on the right whale population.

"This erroneous biological opinion issued by NMFS is a

classic example of abdication of its duty to provide meaningful

protection for an endangered species," Heartland Institute

President James Taylor said in a statement.

"Playing politics with such an iconic species as the right

whale is a truly pathetic example of the Biden administration's

allegiance to climate alarmism."

Dominion's project will have 176 turbines located 27 miles

(43.45 km) off the coast of Virginia Beach. Construction is

expected to start this year and, once built, it will generate

enough electricity to power 660,000 homes.

Officials from NMFS and the Interior Department, which are

among the seven federal defendants named in the suit, would not

comment. Earlier this year, the Biden administration released a

strategy to protect right whales while supporting its offshore

wind goals.

Dominion said the lawsuit had no merit.

"The overwhelming consensus of federal agencies and

scientific organizations is that offshore wind does not

adversely impact marine life. We've put in place strong

environmental protections for this project, and are confident

the North Atlantic right whale will be protected," the company

said in a statement.

The suit was filed in U.S. District Court for the District

of Columbia.