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The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday, June 15, entered a brief memorandum with a U.S. District Court of Appeals saying it was ending its appeal on a December 2025 court decision that struck down a Trump executive order placing a moratorium on reviewing applications for wind energy projects. The court accepted DOJ's decision ending the appeals case and leaving the December 2025 decision in place.
On his first day back in the White House, Donald Trump signed a slew of executive orders, including one that ordered the suspension of the review of all existing applications for wind energy projects. It only impacted a small number of projects but was seen as a demonstration of the administration's anti-wind energy policy. The executive order also directed all agencies to commence a review of the federal leasing and permitting practices for wind energy, both on land and offshore.
A coalition of 18 attorneys general from 17 states and the District of Columbia filed suit in Massachusetts in May 2025, calling the action arbitrary and noting the indefinite halt without any potential resolution. It highlighted that all applications were frozen while calling the action unlawful.
The states asked the U.S. District Court to grant a preliminary injunction to immediately stop the enforcement of the freeze. They argued the unilateral halt on wind energy development was harming states' ability to provide electricity and meet the growing power demands. They said the administration's action was also putting states' investments and economies at risk.
The U.S.District Court found for the plaintiffs in December 2025, ruling that the Trump review had been ongoing for 10 months with no resolution. It said the DOJ, in its argument, failed to show a timeline or potential resolution of the review. It found that companies had the right to a timely review of their applications and issued the injunction against the executive order, but the administration had sought to appeal.
The administration did not explain why it decided to drop the appeal to preserve the freeze and review. However, the administration has already lost other cases where it ordered projects under development to stop work. The administration is facing another court challenge from a coalition of states, which filed to block the agreement the Department of the Interior made with TotalEnergies to reimburse its bids for offshore wind leases in exchange for investment in LNG projects.
While the states are celebrating today's decision to end the appeal, it is likely a symbolic victory with limited value. There are only a handful of projects that have already filed applications for review, and even still, the developers may not be willing to proceed due to the economic challenges in the sector and the negative sentiments. The administration has no intention of conducting future lease auctions and continues in its efforts to block individual projects. It has also agreed to two buybacks of offshore leases with TotalEnergies and Ocean Winds, a joint venture from EDPR and ENGIE, that has leases in the New York Bight and off the coast of California.
Fuente: Maritime Executive
