18 US states sue Trump over offshore wind

Led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, the suit names Trump himself as a defendant along with a host of other organisations, including the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), BOEM Acting Director Walter Cruickshank, Secretary of the Interior Douglas Burgum, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Marine Fisheries Service, and others.

It is responding to Trump’s sweeping presidential directive to suspend all federal approvals for wind energy projects, freezing numerous projects in their tracks.

“This administration is devastating one of our nation’s fastest growing sources of clean, reliable and affordable energy,” said James in the press release.

The court filing cites the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), which says the shelf is a national resource reserve for the public’s use.

“OCSLA allows the Interior Secretary to “grant a lease, easement, or right-of-way” for activities that “produce or support production, transportation, storage, or transmission of energy from sources other than oil and gas,” including offshore wind,” the court filing says.

“States have a responsibility to meet increasing electricity demand while also mitigating climate harms and reducing pollution caused by fossil fuels,” the attorney general says. “In addition, the indefinite halt on federal approvals is already putting state investments and economic benefits from wind energy projects in jeopardy. New York’s wind projects currently support over 4,400 jobs throughout the state and are expected to create more than 18,000 additional new jobs in the coming years. Those jobs will not materialize if these projects are halted. The administration’s indefinite blockade could leave billions of dollars in states’ clean energy investments stranded or underutilized and significantly harm their economic development.”

Joining Attorney General James in filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and the District of Columbia.