Blue States Sue Feds Over Halt To Wind Energy Projects

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Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have sued the federal government, alleging an executive order signed by the so-called president that mandated a halt to all wind energy projects both onshore and offshore is illegal, nonsensical, and contrary to other executive orders. New York Attorney General Letitia James is leading the coalition of litigants, which includes the states of New York, Massachusetts, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington.

In a statement, James said, “This administration is devastating one of our nation’s fastest growing sources of clean, reliable, and affordable energy. 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.” The suit was filed in federal district court in Boston. The full complaint can be accessed at this link.

On the first day of his second term, the 47th president issued an executive order that immediately suspended all federal approvals for wind energy products, claiming the administration needs to conduct a more thorough review of the economic and environmental impacts of these projects, according to Courthouse News. “This withdrawal temporarily prevents consideration of any area in the OCS for any new or renewed wind energy leasing for the purposes of generation of electricity or any other such use derived from the use of wind,” the January 20 order said. “This withdrawal does not apply to leasing related to any other purposes such as, but not limited to, oil, gas, minerals, and environmental conservation.”

The Wind Directive

The plaintiffs complain the executive order — known as the Wind Directive — flies in the face of years of bipartisan legislative support for offshore and onshore wind energy products and threatens tens of thousands of jobs. The loss of those jobs could have a devastating impact on the economies of the states that are party to the lawsuit. Oddly, many of the wind projects affected are in Republican controlled states, which also stand to lose billions in federal funding and thousands of good paying jobs in the renewable energy industry.

“The Wind Directive has stopped most wind energy development in its tracks, despite the fact that wind energy is a homegrown source of reliable, affordable energy that supports hundreds of thousands of jobs, creates billions of dollars in economic activity and tax payments, and supplies more than ten percent of the country’s electricity,” the court filing claims. In addition, the plaintiffs say it defies another executive order which declared a national energy emergency and called for a boost in domestic energy production. The states contend that wind energy directly meets the requirement to develop “a reliable, diversified, and affordable supply of energy.”

The suit claims the administration has offered no “detailed justification to explain the abrupt change in longstanding federal policy supporting the development of wind energy. Nor have Agency Defendants provided any explanation for departing — with the President’s newly imposed extra-statutory review requirement — from past findings, based on numerous comprehensive assessments, that wind projects can proceed with minimal adverse effects on the environment and other interests.”

The states are seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent the administration from enforcing its unilateral freeze on wind energy development. Named defendants in their lawsuit include the Department of Energy and Secretary Chris Wright, the Department of the Interior and Secretary Doug Burgum, and the so-called president himself.

EDF Weighs In On Wind

In an email to CleanTechnica, Ted Kelly, the director and lead attorney for US Clean Energy at the Environmental Defense Fund, said, “At a time when Americans need more affordable electricity, the Trump administration is taking a low cost, clean and abundant energy option off the table. In 2024, wind energy generated more than 10 percent of U.S. electricity and it has the potential to grow substantially in the years ahead. Wind energy is already delivering lower energy bills, clean air, and good paying jobs.

“In fact, jobs in the wind industry are some of the fastest growing in the nation. Instead of tapping into America’s vast wind resources and growing this industry, the administration is blocking energy progress. These Attorneys General are right to challenge the Trump administration’s illegal attempts to obstruct wind energy.”

Reuters reports that White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers accused the Democratic attorneys general of “using lawfare to stop the president’s popular energy agenda. The American people voted for the president to restore America’s energy dominance, and Americans in blue states should not have to pay the price of the Democrats’ radical climate agenda.”

Lawfare is a new term the right-wing crazies have dreamed up to rile up their base. Last year, red states sued blue states, making the asinine claim that by coordinating their legal policies they were engaged in an illegal conspiracy that amounted to racketeering. They like to throw around terms like “woke mind virus,” “DEI,” and “critical race theory” to draw people’a attention away from the fact that they are taking a sledgehammer to civil society.

Clean Energy And Climate Change

PBS reports the Wind Directive appears to be mostly an attempt to undermine any and all actions taken by the prior administration, which saw offshore wind as a climate change solution. To promote the technology, it set national goals, conducted lease sales, and approved nearly a dozen commercial-scale offshore wind projects. In reversing those energy policies, the new administration is boosting fossil fuels such as oil, methane, and coal, arguing they are necessary in order for the US to have the lowest-cost energy and electricity in the world.

The reality is that years of data show renewables are precisely that — the lowest cost electrical energy in the world — but that is beyond the ability of Republicans to understand, primarily because fossil fuel companies contribute lavishly to their reelection campaigns. These people seem unable to understand the sunshine and wind are free, which means developers can sign long-term contracts that will keep the cost of electricity stable for 20 years or more. Ask a methane producer to guarantee prices for 20 years and see what happens.

Last month, the federal government ordered Equinor to halt construction on Empire Wind, a fully permitted project located southeast of Long Island, New York, that is about 30% complete. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said it appeared the Biden administration rushed the approval. In fact, that process took place over seven years before construction began. When competed — assuming it ever is — Empire Wind is expected to produce enough zero-carbon electricity to power 500,000 homes in New York state. Now Equinor is planning to file its own lawsuit against the federal government.

“The order to halt work now is unprecedented and in our view unlawful. This is a question of the rights and obligations granted under legally issued permits, and security of investments based on valid approvals,” Anders Opedal, president and CEO of Equinor, said in an April 29 press release.

Fiat Justicia, Ruat Caelum

The courts are now the last remaining bulwark against attacks on the US Constitution, but bear in mind many federal judges have been appointed by the incumbent. Not only that, the wheels of justice are known to grind very slowly. The current presidential term may be over before cases like this one are resolved. “Justice delayed is justice denied” is a well known aspect of the legal process, in which case, any relief from the courts is likely years away. By then, many of these wind developers will have folded their tents and sought better opportunities elsewhere, and America will be the poorer for it. Disruption and delay are as good as a win as far as the anti-wind advocates are concerned.