18 States File Suit to Challenge Trump’s Order Pausing Wind Energy Licenses

A wide-reaching coalition of states involved in offshore as well as onshore wind energy filed suit in federal district court on May 5 seeking to stop the implementation of the presidential executive order to suspend and review leasing for wind energy projects. They are calling the “blockade” on wind energy projects “unlawful,” and asked the District Court in Massachusetts to issue a preliminary injunction to immediately stop the administration from enforcing the freeze while the litigation proceeds.

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

According to New York State, “The administration’s indefinite blockade could leave billions of dollars in states’ clean energy investments stranded or underutilized and significantly harm their economic development.”

Associated Press got a comment from the White House calling the lawsuit “lawfare” from Democratic attorneys general and linked wind energy to the “Democrats’ radical climate agenda.” A spokesperson said it was an effort to stop a popular agenda energy and to stop unleashing American energy and lower prices.

Donald Trump signed an Executive Order on January 20 suspending all federal approvals for wind energy projects and ordering his departments to begin a review of the industry and the licensing process. Since then, the Department of the Interior ordered New York’s Empire Wind project being developed by Equinor to stop construction even though the project was fully licensed in 2024. The EPA has also revoked an air permit related to the construction of a planned offshore wind farm in New Jersey while the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management stopped reviews, and grants to a research project in Maine for floating wind turbines were suspended.

“The President’s attempts to stop homegrown wind energy development directly contradict his claims that there is a growing need for reliable domestic energy,” said Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell. “My colleagues and I will continue to challenge this administration’s unlawful actions to chill investment and growth of this critical industry.”

The 101-page filing cites the hypocrisy of the president’s approach to energy pointing out that Donald Trump also signed an Executive Order declaring a “National Energy Emergency, purportedly brought on by the country’s alleged ‘insufficient energy production’.” The Executive Order called for steps to “shore up the inadequate energy supply.”

The filing says while energy, and specifically domestic energy, is a high priority the administration is threatening to undermine a critical source of clean energy and job growth. They note the years of bipartisan support for offshore and onshore wind energy projects and the efforts in Trump’s first term. They state that states have a responsibility to meet increased energy demand.

The suit contends that the president is acting outside his legal authority and has no statutory right to shut down the permitting process. They are calling the order “arbitrary and capricious” saying it is in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.

They are asking the court to intervene and rule the approval blockade unlawful. They want the court to prevent the departments from enforcing the order and wind energy permitting process.

The coalition filing the suite includes states involved in offshore wind energy (Massachusetts, New York, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington) as well as other states (Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, and the District of Columbia).

It comes as developer Equinor has also threatened to challenge in court the federal order to stop its project off New York. Others in the industry however have already pulled back on their U.S. investment plans moving their emphasis to Europe and other parts of the world which continue to adopt offshore wind energy development.