States sue Trump administration over ‘unlawful’ wind energy halt

On 20 January 2025, President Trump issued a memorandum that, among other things, indefinitely halted all federal approvals necessary for the development of offshore and onshore wind energy projects, pending federal review.

Pursuant to this directive, federal agencies have stopped all permitting and approval activities, and in one case, have even stopped a fully permitted project in New York that had already begun construction. 

The coalition asserts the President’s directive is at odds with years of bipartisan support for offshore and onshore wind energy projects, including during President Trump’s first term.

It also directly contradicts the President’s own executive orders issued on the same day, which declared a ‘national energy emergency,’ singled out New York and several other states for the country’s lack of energy supply, and called for the expansion of most forms of domestic energy production, but not wind energy. 

The attorneys general allege the President’s directive harms 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 directive also threatens to thwart the states’ significant investments in wind industry infrastructure, supply chains, and workforce development, investments that already total billions of dollars. 

The coalition argues the President’s directive, and federal agencies’ subsequent implementation of it, violate the Administrative Procedure Act and other federal laws because they, among other things, provide no reasoned explanation for categorically and indefinitely halting all wind energy development, a sudden change that reverses longstanding federal policy and is inconsistent with recent federal action propping up other forms of energy. 

The lawsuit also alleges the abrupt halt on all permitting violates numerous federal statutes that prescribe specific procedures and timelines for federal permitting and approvals, procedures the Administration wholly disregarded in stopping wind energy development altogether. 

In filing this lawsuit, the attorneys general are asking the Court to declare the President’s directive illegal and prevent the administration from taking any action to delay or prevent wind energy development. 

“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.”

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell said the state has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in offshore wind “to ensure our residents have access to well-paying green jobs and reliable, affordable energy that helps meet our clean energy and climate goals.

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

The lawsuit was filed by the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island and Washington.