Seventeen Democrat-led states are suing the Trump administration over its moves to hold up wind energy development on public lands and in public waters.
President Trump, on his first day in office, issued an executive order that barred the government from auctioning off the rights to build wind farms offshore and also blocked new rights for wind on public lands.
Since that time, federal agencies have taken steps to hamper new wind energy development, including recently ordering an already-approved wind farm to stop construction.
In a lawsuit filed Monday, the 17 states and Washington, D.C., asked the court to block agencies from implementing the order and taking actions that categorically block wind energy.
The suit says that since Trump’s order, the administration has “ceased all wind-energy project permitting and approval activities” which they say “has stopped most wind-energy development in its tracks.”
They argued that it harms their ability to secure reliable, diversified, and affordable sources of energy to meet the ever-increasing demand for electricity.”
President Trump has repeatedly sought to bolster fossil fuels and hamper renewable energy — especially wind. During his first day in office, he issued an executive order declaring a national energy emergency and sought to advance energy production — but excluded solar and wind.
He has also called for an administration with a policy “where no windmills are being built.”
As of 2023, wind accounted for about 10 percent of the nation’s electric power. The energy source is considered climate-friendly because it does not produce planet-warming carbon emissions when it generates power.
A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment. A spokesperson for the Interior Department, which oversees energy production on federal lands and waters, declined to comment on the lawsuit.
But, more broadly, Interior spokesperson J. Elizabeth Peace said via email that the department “reaffirms its unwavering commitment to conserving and managing the nation’s natural and cultural resources, upholding tribal trust responsibilities, and overseeing public lands and waters for the benefit of all Americans, while prioritizing fiscal responsibility for the American people.”
Zach Schonfeld contributed.
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