‘Kneecapping the cleanest resources in the country’: WA sues Trump over wind energy freeze
May 5, 2025, 2:47 PM | Updated: 3:08 pm
Wind turbines stretch across the horizon. (File photo: Charlie Riedel, AP)
(File photo: Charlie Riedel, AP)
Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown and 18 other state attorneys general have filed a lawsuit fighting the Trump administration’s abrupt freeze on the development of wind energy projects nationwide.
Officials are asking the court to declare the directive unlawful and to block the federal government from enforcing the freeze. The states argue that Trump’s administration’s actions are not only unlawful but threaten jobs, clean energy goals, and billions of dollars in economic investment, according to the Washington State Office of the Attorney General.
In 2024 alone, the state generated over 8,400 megawatt hours from wind energy that supports local jobs, stabilizes electricity prices, and helps meet legally mandated emissions reductions.
“We can’t unleash American energy by kneecapping some of the fastest growing, most innovative, and cleanest resources in the country,” Brown said. “Without a robust clean energy economy, we will see worsening climate change, more expensive energy from toxic fossil fuels, fewer jobs, and fewer solutions to our greatest challenges.”
Washington sues Trump Admin. over wind energy freeze
Officials said the directive would put an indefinite pause on the turbine permitting process, even for projects that had already been approved. Brown argues that the freeze violates the Administrative Procedure Act and could derail state and national efforts to address climate change.
Brown and Washington Governor Bob Ferguson said the lawsuit was filed after President Donald Trump issued a presidential memo halting all federal approvals for both offshore and onshore wind energy projects in January.
“This action undermines years of progress,” Ferguson said. “Our state has made massive investments in clean energy, and we cannot allow arbitrary federal decisions to jeopardize our climate goals and economic future.”
