The coalition calls the White House lawsuit a partisan attack on Trump’s energy agenda a lawsuit, while seeking a court order to lift the winds allowing it to halt.
A coalition of 18 democratically-led states filed a lawsuit Monday, challenging President Donald Trump’s halt approval of a nationwide wind energy project, calling it an illegal, politically motivated lockdown that threatens job growth, energy security and “climate progress.”
Trump’s directive cites a range of concerns, including potential impacts on marine ecosystems, nautical safety, national defense operations, and the volatile impact of intermittent wind power generation on grid reliability and energy prices.
“We’re not going to do the wind,” Trump returned to his second term after returning to his oval office on January 20th.
“So if you’re in a whale, you don’t want a windmill either, and they’re the most expensive energy you can have in the distance. They’re all made in China.
The move has stalled dozens of wind energy projects and forced at least one federally approved offshore development near New York, according to the complaint.
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“This administration is destroying one of the fastest growing clean, reliable, affordable energy in our country,” James said in a statement. “This arbitrary and unnecessary directive threatens the loss of thousands of payroll jobs and billions of investments, slowing down our transition from fossil fuels that hurt our health and our planet.”
The lawsuit alleges that Trump’s orders violate the Administrative Procedure Act and surpass presidential authorities by imposing a blanket freeze without legal justification or justification. The plaintiffs are seeking a preliminary injunction to immediately restart the permitting process while the lawsuit progresses.
In a press release, the coalition said the stops undermine the ability to meet the state’s clean energy obligations and increased demand for electricity.
For example, New York added that it is legally necessary to generate 70% of its electricity from renewable energy by 2030 and 100% under the Climate Act by 2040, with the state’s wind sector currently supporting more than 4,400 jobs and is projected to create an additional 18,000 over the next decade.
“If these projects are stopped, these jobs will not be realized,” James and the co-deputy said in a press release. “The administration’s indefinite lockdown could significantly harm economic development as state clean energy investments are left behind or unutilized.”
In addition to New York, other plaintiffs in this case are attorney generals for the districts of California, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island and Washington.
The White House has dismissed the lawsuit as a politically motivating effort to block the president’s agenda to reaffirm “American energy control.”
“Instead of working with President Trump to unleash American energy and low prices in American families, the Democratic Attorney General is using the law to stop the president’s popular energy agenda,” White House assistant press secretary Taylor Rogers told the Epoch Times via email. “Americans should vote for the president to restore control of America’s energy, and Americans in the Blue State should not have to pay the price for the Democratic Party’s radical climate agenda.”
Trump’s January 20th directive also ordered a government-wide review of all existing windmills, including the condition and safety of idle turbines, and directed federal agencies to assess whether abolishment projects should be demolished. It was issued along with a series of enforcement actions aimed at rapid tracing of domestic oil, gas and mineral extraction and eliminating Biden-era climate regulations.
