A federal judge overturned President Trump's attempt to suspend approvals for all new wind energy projects on Monday, ruling his Inauguration Day order illegal. The Interior Department, Commerce Department, Environmental Protection Agency, and Army Corps of Engineers had stopped issuing permits for wind projects since Trump's order, and agency officials indicated they would not resume issuing them until completing a "Comprehensive Assessment," which has no set deadline, the Hill reports. "That action is contrary to law," Judge Patti Saris wrote.
Saris, who was appointed by Bill Clinton, vacated the agencies' suspension of wind project authorizations. The legal challenge was brought by 17 states with Democratic leadership. The impact of the decision isn't clear, per Axios; federal agencies invoke layers of orders and policies when restricting renewable energy projects. ClearView Energy Partners, a consulting firm, pointed out that in general, courts can't force agencies to issue approvals, per the New York Times. And developers might hesitate to seek approvals for new projects from the Trump administration, the firm wrote.
Trump, who has criticized wind energy for years, also has tried to stop projects approved before he took office. And he signed an executive order that prevented the federal government from auctioning offshore wind farm rights and halted new wind development rights on public lands. In her ruling, Saris, of the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts, said federal officials have not supplied much of a rationale for blocking the approvals. "Agency defendants candidly concede that the sole factor they considered in deciding to stop issuing permits was the president's direction to do so," she wrote.
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