The multistate coalition alleges that the President’s directive harms their states’ efforts to secure reliable, diversified, and affordable sources of energy to meet their increasing demand for electricity and help reduce emissions of harmful air pollutants, meet clean energy goals, and address climate change.
The attorneys general also allege that the moratorium threatens to thwart the states’ significant investments in wind industry infrastructure, supply chains, and workforce development — investments that already total billions of dollars.
“The Trump Administration’s directive to halt the development of offshore wind energy is illegal,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta. “This reckless directive will not only reverse America’s progress in clean energy initiatives, but our communities will also suffer the economic consequences of the President’s misguided lawlessness."
In addition to relying on onshore wind energy, in California, there are also currently five federal offshore wind leases off of California’s coast. Two are located offshore by Humboldt, while the remaining three are offshore from Morro Bay. These new developments are designed to bring substantial amounts of clean energy to the grid, including enough to power 1.6 million homes and potentially more.
“The President has promised that his actions would lower energy costs, but instead, energy prices have only gone up and will continue to skyrocket. In California, we will continue to hold the President accountable for breaking the law and protect our significant progress in expanding cleaner, cheaper energy for American families,” continued Bonta.
“Despite its affinity for hot air, this administration’s attack on wind is not unexpected,” said Rhode Island’s Attorney General Neronha. “Mere hours after taking office, this President issued an executive order reaffirming his commitment to dismantling substantial clean energy progress in this country. The development and implementation of renewable energy resources, including wind energy, is a crucial part of stabilizing energy prices at a time when Rhode Islanders are struggling to pay skyrocketing energy bills.
“Further, the continued development of wind energy will help us meet our state’s Act on Climate goals, provide quality jobs for Rhode Islanders, and help maintain a habitable planet for generations to come. We can’t afford any setbacks when it comes to climate, and we will fight to make sure our progress isn’t lost.”
On January 20, President Trump issued a Presidential Memorandum that, among other things, indefinitely halted all federal approvals necessary for the development of offshore and onshore wind energy projects pending federal review. Pursuant to this directive, federal agencies have stopped all permitting and approval activities.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said, “President Trump’s presidential order halting the development of wind energy threatens thousands of good-paying jobs and jeopardizes our ability to build a reliable, affordable and clean energy grid for the benefit of all New Yorkers. Like virtually all the executive orders issued by the President thus far, it sows chaos and upsets the critical regulatory clarity needed for businesses to effectively operate in New York and around the country.
“New York is not backing down without a fight — we are suing the federal government in litigation just announced by Attorney General Letitia James. We must not allow this federal overreach to stand."
Through the lawsuit, the attorneys general allege that the President’s directive and federal agencies’ subsequent implementation of it violate multiple federal laws, including the Administrative Procedure Act. The attorneys general are asking the Court to declare the President’s directive illegal and prevent the Administration from taking any action to delay or prevent wind energy development.
The attorneys general of California, New York, Massachusetts, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington, are filing the lawsuit.
A copy of the complaint is available here.
Correction: This corrects an earlier story that included Hawaii in the lawsuit.
