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Last Update: 10/26/2026 at 11:33 PM EST
Federal Wind Permitting Battles
Coverage from Heatmap, Solar Power World, and others
Federal agencies’ efforts to restrict, pause, or subject wind projects to additional permitting review have produced a sustained series of lawsuits and court orders.
The disputes involve the Department of the Interior, the Army Corps of Engineers, offshore-wind agencies, developers, and clean-energy groups, with courts examining claims about statutory authority, national-security concerns, and unlawful permitting blockades. Judge Denise Casper’s Massachusetts proceedings challenged several Interior and Army Corps policies, while rulings involving projects such as Sunrise Wind, Revolution Wind, Empire Wind, Vineyard Wind, and Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind addressed whether construction and approvals could continue.
Looking Back
254 Day Timeline
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History
10/03/2026
Court orders have enabled construction to resume on several East Coast offshore wind projects, though onshore projects remain stalled as the Defense Department develops a revised review method.
All Articles22 articles
Important
The Department of Justice reported Thursday that nearly all affected United States wind projects remained stalled despite an August injunction against the federal clearance freeze.
9/17/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
Renewable trade groups and wind developers sued the Pentagon and FAA in the United States in 2025 over turbine height clearance delays affecting new wind project approvals.
6/18/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
Wood Mackenzie assessed 2025 DOI renewable permitting changes and federal actions that raised scrutiny for wind and solar on federal land, prompting 7 GW cancellations and triggering court intervention in April 2026.
6/29/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
A federal judge on Long Island granted an injunction on Empire Wind on January 2025 allowing Equinor to resume offshore wind construction suspended by the federal government.
1/15/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
Interesting
Two federal judges ordered restoration of clean energy grants and allowed offshore wind development to proceed in DC and Rhode Island.
1/14/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
Judges in Massachusetts and DC allow Vineyard Wind and Orsted projects to resume after December freezes.
1/1/1900 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
A federal judge in Washington allowed Equinor's Empire Wind construction to resume on Thursday while courts review the federal suspension of five East Coast offshore wind projects.
1/15/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
Regional renewable energy groups requested a District of Oregon preliminary injunction in 2020s litigation to compel the Pentagon to resume onshore wind radar and flight-path reviews.
6/12/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
The Pentagon is reportedly delaying reviews of 165 U.S. land-based wind projects, raising concerns that prolonged timelines will slow clean electricity deployment.
5/12/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
Environmental groups filed a brief in Oregon on June 18, 2026 urging the Department of Defense to end a freeze on onshore wind national security reviews.
6/18/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
A federal judge blocked Trump administration enforcement of wind and solar permitting restrictions on federal lands on April 21, 2026.
5/17/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
Environmental groups filed an amicus brief on June 18, 2026 in Oregon federal court urging a preliminary injunction against a Defense Department wind review freeze.
6/18/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
The American Clean Power Association says the Pentagon stopped routine processing of 165 U.S. onshore wind project reviews, totaling about 30 GW, starting August 2025.
5/24/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
The Interior Department paused large-scale offshore wind construction in the United States in December, citing classified Defense national security risks as federal courts issued injunctions.
3/22/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
Nine renewable groups sued the Pentagon in Oregon federal court in 2026 to require resumption of national security reviews for new land-based wind projects on private land.
6/12/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
Renewable energy groups sued the Pentagon in Oregon in 2026, alleging stalled national security reviews delayed onshore wind projects and threatened $47 billion in investment across 21 states.
6/12/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
Doug Burgum said the administration will appeal a District of Massachusetts preliminary injunction blocking DOI memos that stalled solar and wind permits.
5/13/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
US Interior Department actions against five offshore wind projects were halted by federal court injunctions and a missed appeal deadline, allowing construction to continue in Massachusetts, Long Island, and Virginia.
4/8/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
A federal court reversed IRS eligibility limits for 45Y and 48E solar and wind credits as New York, Illinois, and Rhode Island updated clean energy and data center governance in the 2020s.
6/8/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
Additional
Judge Denise Casper ruled in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts that wind and solar developers may continue a lawsuit challenging Interior Department and Army Corps of Engineers permitting policies.
6/16/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
In Massachusetts, Judge Denise Casper issued a preliminary injunction stopping DOI and Army Corps policies limiting wind and solar permitting on federal land.
4/22/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
From Dec 2025 to Jun 2026, federal courts lifted offshore wind stop-work orders, while Department of the Interior lease buyouts and permitting actions increased costs and uncertainty for renewable developers.
7/8/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General