We’re Joining the Legal Fight to Defend Clean and Critical Wind Energy From Trump

What’s happening: Earthjustice is joining a legal fight against the Trump administration’s attacks on wind energy.

On day one of his second term, President Trump issued a memo directing federal agencies to stop all permitting for both offshore and onshore wind energy projects as part of this administration’s broader attack on a clean and healthy environment. In response, attorneys general from 17 states and Washington, D.C. sued the administration, and the Alliance for Clean Energy New York also filed a complaint. Earthjustice and its clients are now joining a coalition of environmental groups to support these litigation efforts.

Why it matters: Trump’s directive to stop all wind permitting and its implementation by federal agencies has halted most wind-energy development in its tracks at a time of skyrocketing energy prices and electricity demand in the U.S. Wind power is a clean and affordable energy source for the nation, and the federal government should be supporting wind development at a time when the president is also saying we need to increase domestic energy production.

The coalition’s legal brief in support of wind generation is part of Earthjustice’s longstanding work to transition the U.S. to 100% clean energy that’s both affordable and available to everyone.

What are the benefits of wind energy?

• Onshore wind energy is cheap. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, utility-scale wind provides one of the lowest-priced energy sources available today. “And while offshore costs have not yet fallen as much as for onshore wind, the federal government predicts that costs will come down over the longer term.”
• Wind energy is an economic booster. In 2022, funding in new wind projects added $20 billion to the U.S. economy. Wind projects also benefit local communities by injecting an average of $2 billion in state and local tax payments and land-lease payments each year.
• Wind energy is clean. Unlike fossil fuel-fired power generation, wind turbines don’t emit harmful air pollutants like nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide that damage our lungs and bodies, or greenhouse-gas emissions that heat the planet.
• Wind energy creates jobs. Wind turbine service technicians are the fastest growing U.S. job of the decade, while clean energy jobs overall grew at more than twice the rate than the overall economy in 2023. Large-scale wind projects also significantly increase local employment and worker income, with lasting effects, according to an analysis by Lawrence Berkeley National Lab.

How does the Trump administration’s attacks on wind harm the U.S.?

• It wastes money and threatens jobs. The president’s directive to halt wind development disregards the billions of dollars in investments already made in supply chains, workforce development, and wind-industry-related infrastructure like transmission upgrades in areas around the country.
• It stalls incredible energy generation potential. The wind-energy industry already powers about one of every three homes, with much of that production coming from the middle of the country. Researchers at the University of Michigan have also found that wind has the potential to provide 20% of U.S. electricity by 2030 and 35% by 2050.
• It harms states’ efforts to secure reliable and affordable energy. Many states have passed policies and legislation designed to meet the ever-increasing demand for electricity, while also protecting their constituents from harmful air pollution. It’s no surprise then that New York, Massachusetts, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington states plus the District of Columbia have joined forces to stop Trump’s short-sighted wind order.

How is Earthjustice fighting Trump’s attacks on wind energy?

• Our coalition’s legal brief argues that the implementation of President Trump’s directive to halt wind energy approvals while the government conducts an indefinite and undefined assessment of environmental impacts of wind projects is arbitrary and unlawful. It points out that the administration’s purported concerns about the environmental impacts of wind projects are unexplained and unsubstantiated.
• At the same time, we’ll continue making progress elsewhere by removing policy barriers to the adoption of renewables in states, localities, and international venues around the world. In states such as New York, Michigan, Hawaii, and Colorado, we’re litigating at the local level to ensure that energy utilities take advantage of cost-effective clean energy.
• For 50 years and through 14 presidential administrations, we have made big strides in transitioning the country to clean, affordable, and renewable energy. We’re not stopping now.