Solar and wind energy projects must now get Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s personal sign-off to receive permits across the hundreds of millions of federal acres under his department’s control, according to an internal memo obtained by POLITICO.
The Interior directive puts wind and solar projects under heightened scrutiny, potentially slowing approvals and construction across vast swaths of some of the most sun- and wind-rich portions of the country. The memo was sent to Interior staff on Wednesday, according to a person familiar with it and an Interior official who had seen the document who were both granted anonymity to discuss a memo that had not been publicly released.
The move comes as President Donald Trump has sought to clamp down on wind and solar subsidies — at the behest of House conservatives — even after moderate Republicans in the Senate preserved some federal tax credits for those energy sources in their recently enacted megalaw.
Gregory Wischer, Interior’s deputy chief of staff for policy, wrote in the memo that “all decisions, actions, consultations, and other undertakings — including but not limited to the following — related to wind and solar energy facilities” require Burgum’s review. The actions triggering Burgum’s attention span cradle to grave aspects of project development, ranging from scoping reports to access road authorizations to cost recovery agreements.
