Wind turbines come online at a wind farm near solar panels near Palm Springs, California, on March 6, 2024.
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A federal judge on Tuesday blocked President Donald Trump from enforcing a series of permitting policies that wind and solar energy industry groups say are hindering the development of new energy generation projects.
Chief U.S. District Judge Dennis Casper in Boston issued a preliminary injunction sought by nine advocacy and industry groups, alleging the administration has imposed illegal obstacles to halt the development of wind and solar energy projects nationwide.
The ruling was the latest in a series of judicial reprimands for the Trump administration’s efforts to block federal approvals for wind energy projects and halt construction on a multibillion-dollar offshore wind farm under construction on the East Coast.
After campaigning on the “drill, baby, drill” phrase, President Trump has sought to increase government support for fossil fuels and maximize production in the United States, the world’s largest oil and gas producer.
RENEW Northeast, the Alliance for Clean Energy New York and other groups filed a lawsuit in December seeking to block action by the U.S. Department of the Interior and other agencies, giving wind and solar technologies what their lawyers call “second-class regulatory status.”
At the March 4 hearing, plaintiffs’ attorney Daron Janis focused on the policy adopted by the Interior Department in a July memorandum. The policy requires nearly every step of the wind and solar permitting process to be approved by three senior political appointees, including Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum.
The memo cites directives and orders signed by President Trump that aim to block offshore wind energy development and direct the Department of the Interior to eliminate “preferences” for “expensive and unreliable energy sources such as wind and solar.”
Janis said the policy created a “complete bottleneck” that forced permits to be suspended. He said it was adopted without any explanation as to why it was necessary and violates the Administrative Procedure Act.
The plaintiffs also challenged policies that discount “capacity-dense” energy projects such as wind and solar power, and the Interior Department’s adoption of an interpretation of the Off-Shelf Lands Act that imposes stricter standards on offshore wind projects.
U.S. Justice Department attorney Paul Turke countered at the hearing that Burgum has a legal right to have more oversight of the permitting process and is not entitled to challenge Justice Department actions that do not directly affect industry groups.
