Trump pauses renewable energy approvals on public lands, waters
The Trump administration is pausing approvals for new renewable energy projects on public lands and in public waters.
The Interior Department quietly issued an order Monday that blocks activities that enable renewable development on federally-owned lands or offshore.
For 60 days, the government will not issue any leases, rights of way, contracts or “any other agreement required to allow for renewable energy development.”
The directive was signed by acting Interior Secretary Walter Cruickshank, who is helming the agency until President Trump's nominee Doug Burgum is confirmed by the Senate.
The order says that its purpose is to implement “a targeted and time-limited elevation of relevant decisions at the Department of the Interior … for the purpose of reviewing the questions in fact, law, and policy they raise.”
It comes as Trump has launched an assault on wind energy in particular, issuing an executive order that pauses new approvals for wind energy. But applying the pause to renewables broadly is an escalation — pausing solar energy action as well.
Despite his apparent distaste for wind energy, Trump has also expressed that the nation needs more energy — even issuing an emergency declaration Monday. He is expected to promote fossil fuels — particularly oil and gas — in light of the issue.
During the start of his tenure, former President Biden halted new approvals for oil and gas on federal lands.
Athan Manuel, director of Sierra Club’s Lands Protection Program, criticized the Trump move, saying in a written statement that “blocking the fastest growing sources of low-cost energy is an odd way to respond to an ‘energy emergency.’”
“The real energy emergency is Donald Trump’s job-killing actions that will raise our energy bills while lining the pockets of his wealthy corporate polluter buddies,” he added.