A federal judge in Massachusetts on Tuesday sided with renewable energy developers in their challenge to the Trump administration’s actions targeting wind and solar projects, blocking the administration from enforcing decisions that advocates say have slowed the development of projects across the country.
U.S. District Judge Denise Casper, an Obama appointee, said in an order that the plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits of their claims that the administration’s actions violate the Administrative Procedure Act and that they will “imminently suffer irreparable harm” absent relief.
The order lands as the administration has already suffered several courtroom losses over its numerous actions to target wind and solar power across departments, including its efforts to stop wind projects offshore and onshore.
The ruling Tuesday applies to members of the plaintiff groups that launched the legal challenge. “After careful consideration of the parties’ filings, briefs from amici curiae and oral argument by the parties, the Court ALLOWS Plaintiffs’ motion as to their request to enjoin the Agency Actions preliminarily with respect to [the Green Energy Consumers Alliance] and the Regional Organization Plaintiffs’ members,” Casper wrote.
The coalition of groups representing regional wind and solar power developers filed the challenge last year over several administration actions targeting solar and wind, including the Interior Department’s July memo requiring any decision relating to a wind and solar facility be reviewed by senior officials at Interior. That memo pertained to nearly 70 specific decisions, consultations and other actions, including the issuance of wind and solar project permits.
The groups — which include RENEW Northeast, MAREC Action, the Alliance for Clean Energy–New York and the Clean Grid Alliance — sought to set aside the actions, arguing they disadvantaged wind and solar technologies.
The groups cheered the decision as an “undeniable” victory for both themselves and the broader clean energy industry in a response on Tuesday. They added that they look forward to restarting the impacted wind and solar projects.
“Our coalition has demanded and received an immediate halt to the Trump administration’s unlawful permitting actions, which have discriminatorily placed wind and solar technologies into second-class status,” the statement said.
The Interior Department responded that it does not comment on ongoing litigation.
Casper on Tuesday granted the motion for a preliminary injunction and enjoined the department from implementing the July memo and other actions requiring Interior to consider the “capacity density” of a project relative to other energy sources, as well as a similar directive at the the Army Corps of Engineers. She also blocked agency action targeting a key planning tool for wind and solar and implementation of an opinion pertaining to offshore wind developments.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum defended his department’s actions earlier this week in an appearance before the House Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, where he said solar has “supply chain security” issues and that wind projects make the U.S. vulnerable to a “drone swarm attack” or undersea attack.
