A group of Senate Democrats is joining the growing chorus of elected leaders and advocates strongly opposed to a recent Interior Department policy they argue will “halt progress” on renewable energy development.
The lawmakers led by New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich, the top Democrat on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, on Friday sent a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum asking him to rescind the policy implemented last month requiring his approval on any action advancing solar and wind power projects under federal permitting review.
“At a time when we should be accelerating the deployment of clean, cost-effective energy resources, this Administration is instead using the weight of the Federal government to suppress them,” according to the letter. “Requiring every decision point — no matter how routine — to be approved in your office introduces unnecessary delays, discourages private investment, and creates a bottleneck seemingly designed to halt progress.”
The letter — also signed by Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon, Jacky Rosen of Nevada and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland — urged Burgum “to rescind this directive and restore a permitting framework for renewable energy that is transparent, timely, and aligned with both the law and the public interest.”
