US judge temporarily lifts de facto blockade of solar and wind projects on federal land

Under the measures, proposed solar and wind facilities on federal lands faced a stringent review process, with interior secretary Doug Burgum having the ultimate decision on projects.

The tightened permitting rules prompted an industry backlash, with 143 US solar companies writing an open letter to Congress last December to denounce what they said amounted to a de facto moratorium on solar project permits and demand Congress work with the DOI to revoke the measures.

Separately, a consortium of plaintiffs representing solar and wind developers filed a lawsuit in January seeking an injunction against the DOI’s effective blockade of solar and wind projects.

Issuing a ruling on the case yesterday, Judge Casper upheld the motion, agreeing that the measures were “arbitrary and capricious” and that the plaintiffs would suffer “irreparable harm” without the court’s intervention.

She granted a preliminary injunction to stop the administration from implementing five of the six measures the plaintiffs had argued against in their case on the basis that they would hinder permitting at a time when developers were seeking rapid progress on projects to qualify for expiring tax credits. An expert report cited by Judge Casper in her ruling maintained the permitting restrictions had resulted in 57.2GW of wind, solar, hybrid, and offshore wind capacity to be either cancelled or “placed at material risk of delay or cancellation beyond 2029”.

The plaintiffs in the case were RENEW Northeast, Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Coalition Action, Alliance for Clean Energy – New York, Renewable Northwest, Southern Renewable Energy Association, Interwest Energy Alliance, Clean Grid Alliance and the Carolinas Clean Energy Business Association, as well as the Green Energy Consumers Alliance.

In a joint statement, they said: “Clean energy is fast, affordable and here to stay. We look forward to getting back to work and restarting the impacted wind and solar projects nationwide.”

Darren Van’t Hof, interim president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), said: “This ruling is a win for affordable energy in America, a win for American consumers, and a win for workers. Energy costs are rising for Americans, and the only way to put downward pressure on prices is with more power, not less. Low-cost, quick-to-deploy solar and storage are key to meeting the Trump Administration’s goals of keeping costs down for Americans and bolstering our AI leadership on the world stage. This is a constructive step forward toward letting America’s solar and storage industry build and deliver more American energy to households and businesses nationwide.”

Commenting on the ruling, Sandra Purohit, federal advocacy director of economic and environmental lobby group E2, said: “Today, the courts rightly blocked illegal regulatory attacks that drive up energy costs and slow down the development of new sources of electricity we urgently need. Wind and solar remain the cheapest and fastest-to-deploy energy sources we can build. The law doesn’t allow agencies to rig the process against them.”