CHICAGO — Attorney General Kwame Raoul won his lawsuit against the Trump administration over its unlawful order to freeze all federal permitting of wind energy projects.
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In May, Raoul and a coalition of attorneys general filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s decision to indefinitely halt all federal approvals necessary for the development of offshore and onshore wind energy projects pending federal review. Today, a federal judge in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts vacated those actions, ruling that they were arbitrary and capricious and contrary to law.
“Wind energy is a key component in Illinois’ transition to a renewable energy future,” Raoul said. “The Trump administration’s attempt to effectively halt all wind energy development was illegal and baseless. I am pleased with the court’s decision, and I will continue to push back against the president’s unlawful actions.”
On Jan. 20, President Trump issued a memorandum that, among other things, indefinitely froze all federal approvals needed for the development of wind energy projects pending federal review. Pursuant to this directive, federal agencies stopped all permitting and approval activities.
In their lawsuit, the attorneys general alleged that President Trump’s directive harmed 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 directive also threatened to thwart billions of dollars of states’ investments in wind industry infrastructure, supply chains and workforce development.
Illinois is one of the top states in the country for producing renewable energy from wind, and even more development of wind power in Illinois is planned for the near future.
The coalition argued that federal agencies’ actions violated the Administrative Procedure Act and other federal laws because the agencies, among other things, provided no reasoned explanation for categorically and indefinitely halting all wind energy approvals. The lawsuit also argued that the abrupt halt on all permitting violated numerous federal statutes that prescribe specific procedures and timelines for federal permitting and approvals, procedures the administration wholly disregarded in stopping wind-energy development altogether.
Attorney General Raoul was joined in filing the lawsuit by the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Washington.
