finance
Appeals Court Dismisses Trump Bid to Revive Wind Project Freeze
The Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled the January 2025 executive order unlawful. The decision blocks efforts to halt federal permitting and leasing for wind energy projects.
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The Court of Appeals for the First Circuit dismissed President Trump's appeal to revive an executive order that froze federal permitting and leasing for wind projects. Judge Patti Saris ruled that the January 2025 order was "arbitrary and capricious" and unlawful. ] that we have not approved one windmill since I’ve been in office.
And we’re going to keep it that way. My goal is to not let any windmill be built. " About 8 gigawatts of clean energy projects were canceled in the first quarter of 2026. In March 2026, the Trump administration reached a $1 billion agreement with TotalEnergies under which the company would not develop offshore wind power.
7 gigawatts of clean power will come online in 2026 and $377 billion in additional clean power investment through 2031. The same report states that wind projects will continue to come online during President Trump's current term. Thirty gigawatts of onshore wind projects across more than 150 projects remain stalled pending a Defense Department review.
President Trump has opposed wind power throughout his current presidential term that began in January 2025 and has publicly opposed it for over a decade.
