A coalition of 18 state attorneys general has filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s directive to stop federal approvals for both onshore and offshore wind energy developments, warning that the policy could seriously damage the wind industry and hinder progress on renewable energy.
The coalition alleges that the administration’s directive and federal agencies’ subsequent implementation of it violate the Administrative Procedure Act and other laws by offering no reasoned justification for reversing federal policy and freezing all approvals.
The lawsuit, led by New York state, also alleges that the sudden halt on all permitting violates numerous federal statutes that prescribe specific procedures and timelines for federal permitting and approvals.
In filing this lawsuit , the attorneys general seek to overturn the President’s directive and prevent the Trump administration from taking any action to delay or prevent wind energy development.
At the beginning of this year, President Trump issued a Presidential Memorandum that, among other things, indefinitely halted all federal approvals necessary for the development of onshore and offshore wind energy projects pending federal review.
Pursuant to this directive, federal agencies have stopped all permitting and approval activities, and in one case, have even stopped a fully permitted project in New York that had already begun construction.
After quarter close, Equinor received a halt work order from the US government on the offshore construction on the outer continental shelf for the 810 MW Empire Wind project. Equinor’s CEO and President, Anders Opedal, described this as “unlawful” and said that the company is seeking dialogue with the proper authorities and assessing legal options.
“President Trump’s presidential order halting the development of wind energy threatens thousands of good paying jobs and jeopardizes our ability to build a reliable, affordable and clean energy grid for the benefit of all New Yorkers. New York is not backing down without a fight — we are suing the federal government in litigation just announced by Attorney General Letitia James. We must not allow this federal overreach to stand,” said New York Governor Kathy Hochul .
The coalition includes Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Washington, D.C.
“In an era of energy abundance, we should not dismiss the fact that the national wind energy industry is generating enough power to serve more than 46 million American homes. And the offshore wind industry alone is spurring domestic supply chain investments of $40 billion across 40 different states,” stated Doreen M. Harris , President and CEO of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).
“Federal actions jeopardizing locally-produced energy risk the economic stability of all states, not only those states developing wind energy, as well as the hundreds of thousands of Americans relying on critical supply chain investments to spur business and economic growth and maintain family-supporting jobs.”
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