Stop the war on Green Energy
“Wind energy creates jobs and helps stabilize energy prices, neither of which this Administration seems to know how to do,” said Attorney General Neronha.
“Today’s win once again demonstrates that this federal
government is not immune from consequences, and our coalition is proving that
with each legal victory we achieve. Rhode Islanders and Americans everywhere
continue to pay the price, quite literally, for a collective hesitancy in
embracing clean energy infrastructure. Wind energy is crucial to bringing
energy costs down and keeping them down, and we will continue fighting to
ensure a clean energy future for generations to come.”
On January 20, 2025, Trump issued a Presidential
Memorandum which indefinitely froze all federal approvals needed for the
development of wind energy projects pending federal review. Pursuant to this
directive, federal agencies stopped all permitting and approval activities. In
May 2025, the coalition filed a lawsuit challenging the freeze and in December,
a federal judge in the United States District Court for the District of
Massachusetts them to be arbitrary and capricious and contrary to law. The
federal government appealed that ruling but subsequently decided to drop their
appeal. Today, the Court entered a judgement dismissing the appeal and
cementing the states’ victory.
In their lawsuit, the attorneys general alleged that the federal agencies’ actions harmed their states’ efforts to secure reliable, diversified, and affordable sources of energy to meet their increasing demand for electricity and help reduce emissions of harmful air pollutants, meet clean energy goals, and address climate change. The agencies’ actions also threatened to thwart billions of dollars of states’ investments in wind industry infrastructure, supply chains, and workforce development.
The coalition argued, and the court agreed, that federal
agencies’ actions violated the Administrative Procedure Act because, among
other things, the agencies provided no reasoned explanation for categorically
and indefinitely halting all wind energy approvals.
Joining Attorney General Neronha in this matter are the
attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware,
Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New
York, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, and the District of Columbia.
