Trump Orders Moratorium on Federal Actions for Wind Projects and Withdrawal of New or Renewed Wind Leases in Outer Continental Shelf
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On January 20, 2025, the Trump Administration issued a Memorandum (the Memorandum) that orders a moratorium on new or renewed federal actions for onshore and offshore wind projects, pending federal review, and withdraws new or renewed wind energy leasing from all areas in the Offshore Continental Shelf (OCS).
Moratorium on New or Renewed Federal Actions for Onshore and Offshore Wind Projects, Pending Federal Review
The Memorandum1 orders relevant federal agencies to not issue new or renewed approvals, rights of way, permits, leases or loans for onshore or offshore wind projects pending the completion of a comprehensive federal review of federal wind leasing and permitting practices. The Memorandum orders a multi-federal agency review of onshore and offshore wind projects that could impact the fate of such projects.2
The Memorandum states that the pause on these projects is due to "various alleged legal deficiencies…including negative impacts on navigational safety interests, transportation interests, national security interests, commercial interests, and marine mammals" and "potential inadequacies in various environmental reviews required by the National Environmental Policy Act." The federal review will reportedly consider the environmental impact of wind projects on wildlife, as well as the economic costs associated with the "intermittent generation of electricity and the effect of subsidies on the viability of the wind industry."
The Attorney General may request that courts stay or delay litigation "or seek other appropriate relief consistent with [the Memorandum]" relating to any federal leasing or permitting of onshore or offshore wind projects, pending the completion of the federal review described above.
The moratorium went into effect immediately and remains in effect until the federal review is complete or the Memorandum is revoked. The Memorandum does not provide a timeframe for the federal review.3
Given that the moratorium extends to "new or renewed" federal approvals, rights of way, permits, leases or loans for wind projects, the moratorium could impact existing onshore or offshore wind projects, in addition to new or planned onshore or offshore wind projects.
Onshore wind projects affected include projects located on private lands that require federal wildlife or environmental permits or approvals, such as under the National Environmental Policy Act, and projects located or planned to be located on federal lands or that require authorization from the federal government to use a specific area of public land (e.g., a federal right of way over an access road or power line).
Withdrawal of New or Renewed Wind Leases from the OCS
The Memorandum states that the withdrawal "temporarily" prevents consideration of any area in the OCS for any new or renewed wind energy leasing for the purpose of generation of electricity or any other such use derived from wind. The withdrawal does not apply to leasing in the OCS related to "any other purposes such as…oil, gas, minerals, and environmental conservation." The withdrawal in the OCS goes into effect on January 21, 2025, and will remain in effect until the Memorandum is revoked.
While the Memorandum states that it does not affect rights under existing leases in the OCS, it appears that such leases could be terminated, not renewed or amended, pending a federal review. With respect to such existing wind project leases in the OCS, the Memorandum instructs the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Attorney General as needed, to conduct a review of the economic and environmental necessity of terminating or amending such leases, "identifying any legal bases for [the removal of such existing leases]" and to submit a report with recommendations to the President.
The Memorandum cites a variety of factors for the withdrawal of new and renewed wind project leasing in the OCS, such as "the need to foster an energy economy capable of meeting the country's growing demand for reliable energy, the importance of marine life, impacts on ocean currents and wind patterns, effects on energy costs…and to ensure that the United States is able to maintain a robust fishing industry."
The Memorandum also orders a federal assessment of the environmental impact and cost to surrounding communities of defunct and idle windmills and requests a report with recommendations to require removal of such idle windmills.
Conclusions
The actions addressed in the Memorandum undercut the Biden Administration's prior efforts to boost offshore wind generation, which included an ambitious goal of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind in the United States by 2030. The Memorandum creates certain risks and increased uncertainty for project developers, investors, lenders, buyers, and sellers of offshore and onshore wind projects.
The Memorandum pauses all new and renewed federal leases, approvals or land rights for wind projects, halting any project from securing such leases, approvals or land rights until the federal review is complete. For offshore wind projects in the OCS with existing leases and an approved Construction and Operations Plan (COP), the Memorandum goes as far as directing the Secretary of the Interior to assess a legal basis for terminating or amending existing leases while stopping short of calling for a stop to projects already in the construction phase. Notably, the Memorandum does not instruct the Department of the Interior or the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to rescind COPs previously issued for offshore wind projects in the OCS.
The Secretary of the Interior and/or Bureau of Ocean Energy Management may issue guidance on implementation of the Memorandum. The actions taken in the Memorandum are expected to face legal challenges.
All of Trump's recent presidential actions, including memoranda and executive orders can be found here.
1 Presidential memoranda have the force of law and are sometimes challenged in court as exceeding presidential authority. Unlike executive orders, presidential memoranda do not need to cite the President's legal authority.
2 The Secretary of the Interior shall lead the review in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Energy, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
3 The Memorandum also does not clarify (i) how the Secretary of the Interior's review under species-related statutes to review impacts to birds and marine mammals may overlap or be impacted by the new federal review or (ii) whether any other reviews or determinations may be exempt from the moratorium, such as self-implementing permits (e.g., general permits for incidental take of eagles under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act or Army Corps of Engineers' Nationwide Permits under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act).
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