Democratic States Sue Trump for Blocking New Wind Energy Projects

Democratic attorneys general from 17 states and the District of Columbia have filed a lawsuit in Boston federal court to attempt to block President Donald Trump’s plan to suspend permitting and leasing of new wind energy projects.

Plaintiffs say the action unlawfully threatens the wind industry, a major source of clean energy.

“This administration is devastating one of our nation’s fastest-growing sources of clean, reliable and affordable energy,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James, as The New York Times reported.

James said the move threatened “the loss of thousands of good-paying jobs and billions in investments” and was “delaying our transition away from the fossil fuels that harm our health and our planet.”

The Trump administration first halted federal wind energy permits in an executive order signed on January 20, which instructed agencies to stop issuing permits for wind farms until a federal review could be conducted.

The order also instructed the administration to stop issuing loans and leases for offshore and onshore wind projects, reported Reuters.

The lawsuit states that, by complying with the order, federal agencies caused major investments that had already been made to be put at risk.

Plaintiffs are seeking a court order that declares the indefinite pause unlawful while barring agencies such as the United States Departments of the Interior and Commerce, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, from carrying out Trump’s directive.

“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 10% of the country’s electricity,” the lawsuit states.

In their complaint, plaintiffs argue that the “categorical and indefinite halt on federal wind-energy approvals harms the States’ efforts to secure reliable, diversified, and affordable sources of energy to meet the ever-increasing demand for electricity.”

Trump has repeatedly tried to increase fossil fuel output while interfering with renewable energy, particularly wind, The Hill reported.

The president has also called for a policy in his administration “where no windmills are being built.”

“The wind-energy industry, like many other capital-intensive industries in and beyond the energy sector, operates in a tremendously complex logistical and regulatory environment, where even minor setbacks can dramatically increase costs and delay or even altogether derail wind-energy projects. Accordingly, the Wind Directive and Agency Defendants’ actions implementing it create an existential threat to the wind industry,” the complaint said.