Another legal defeat for Trump: Court overturns restrictions on renewables in the US

On April 21, a court in Massachusetts blocked several orders issued by the Trump administration that severely restricted or completely prevented the construction of new wind and solar power plants. Specifically, the orders affected projects on federal land. However, they also seriously complicated other projects if, for example, a section of the project merely crossed federal land.

In December, nine renewable energy groups, including ​RENEW Northeast, filed a lawsuit. They specifically challenged six actions by the current U.S. administration, which they say unlawfully block renewable energy. Public interest organizations and the state of Massachusetts also joined the lawsuit.

The U.S. District Court in Massachusetts ruled that the orders challenged by the plaintiffs were likely unlawful and had led to many renewable energy projects being suspended or canceled. The administration may appeal, but in the meantime its orders do not apply in these cases.

During roughly the first year and a quarter of this administration’s rule in the United States, several orders have been issued that block or complicate the construction of renewable energy facilities. They include, for example:

• Changes to the approval process, making it more difficult and complicated, and now requiring the personal signatures of the interior secretary and two other officials.
• A ban on using the “Information for Planning and Consultation” website, a public site that maps impacts on endangered species and other factors.
• The introduction of rules on energy output per unit of land (that is, how much energy a project produces compared with how much land it occupies). The group said this order effectively banned renewable energy projects and complicated other permitting processes.
• Other changes that effectively blocked the permitting process for new offshore projects.

This is the second court defeat for the Trump administration. Recently, a lawsuit succeeded in response to the effective cancellation of several offshore wind projects at the end of last year. At the time, the cancellations were justified on national security grounds.

Ted Kelly of the Environmental Defense Fund said: “The Trump administration buried projects under red tape instead of lowering costs for Americans by unleashing renewable energy… The decision underscores the administration’s two-tiered approach to permitting energy projects.”

The Trump administration is trying to strengthen the U.S. fossil fuel industry under the slogan “drill, baby, drill,” while showing little enthusiasm for renewable energy. Since taking office last year, it has complicated many solar and wind projects. In addition to the issues related to the lawsuit mentioned above, it has also revoked a permit for the largest solar farm, and last month it compensated TotalEnergies for shifting from offshore wind farm projects to fossil fuel projects.