A preliminary injunction calls on the U.S. Department of the Interior to stop issuing memos that seem to add new restrictions and reviews to renewable energy projects, a district court judge ruled.
According to Industrial Info Resources data, there are a remarkable number of renewable energy projects in various stages of planning, development, and engineering, that could benefit from fewer regulatory hurdles to permitting and construction.
A coalition of plaintiffs representing wind and solar power developers brought a legal challenge and showed a pattern the group described as arbitrary and capricious of the Interior Department deliberately stalling or prohibiting routine federal review and permitting of projects.
On Tuesday, Chief Judge Denise Casper of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts blocked five actions, including a requirement for nearly every step in the wind and solar permitting process to receive approval from three senior political appointees, including Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, according to Reuters.
The judge ruled in a 73-page decision that the coalition of plaintiffs representing wind and solar power developers would succeed on their merits, ordering a preliminary injunction against Interior Department orders.