Trump blocked wind projects, and now 17 states and DC are suing

Seventeen state attorneys general and DC are fighting a Trump executive order that froze permits and funding for all onshore and offshore wind projects on January 20.

The coalition is asking a federal judge to declare the executive order illegal and prevent the Trump administration from obstructing wind energy development. It was filed in federal court in Massachusetts.

New York attorney general Letitia James is leading the coalition. James said, “This arbitrary and unnecessary directive threatens the loss of thousands of good-paying jobs and billions in investments, and it is delaying our transition away from the fossil fuels that harm our health and our planet.”

Federal agencies have stopped issuing permits for wind projects across the board and even pulled the plug on the fully approved Empire Wind in New York, which was already under construction. Developer Equinor, majority owned by the Norwegian government, went through a seven-year permitting process and is considering separate legal actions.

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Massachusetts attorney general Andrea Joy Campbell said that Trump’s “attempts to stop homegrown wind energy development directly contradict his claims that there is a growing need for reliable domestic energy.”

The coalition argues that the action violates the Administrative Procedure Act and other federal laws because the Trump administration, “among other things, provides no reasoned explanation for categorically and indefinitely halting all wind energy development.”

Trump’s executive order puts billions of dollars in state investments at risk, jeopardizing everything from wind industry infrastructure to supply chains and workforce training that’s already well underway.

The coalition consists of attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington. 

Read more: Trump admin halts $5 billion NY offshore wind project mid-build

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