PVTIME – US District Chief Judge Denise Casper has temporarily blocked federal measures that have caused delays to wind and solar projects, pending a final judicial review. This ruling challenges the legal validity of the stricter permitting and scrutiny requirements that federal agencies have imposed on renewable energy schemes, and it has been welcomed by clean energy advocates as a critical reprieve for the sector.
Judge Casper issued a preliminary injunction to prevent the US Department of the Interior (DOI) and other relevant bodies from delaying the deployment of wind and solar projects any further. In her ruling, she questioned the justification for enhanced reviews of such projects and sided with the nine clean energy organisations that had filed a lawsuit against the DOI. The legal action sought an injunction against five administrative actions enforced by US government agencies. Judge Casper deemed the Trump administration’s attempts to block renewable energy facilities to be “arbitrary and capricious” and in breach of federal law. She noted that failing to issue the preliminary injunction, a temporary measure designed to maintain the status quo and prevent irreparable harm during litigation, would likely result in significant, irreversible damage.
The plaintiff coalition comprises RENEW Northeast, the Green Energy Consumers Alliance (GECA), MAREC Action, the Alliance for Clean Energy New York (ACE NY), Renewable Northwest, the Southern Renewable Energy Association (SREA), the Interwest Energy Alliance (Interwest) and the Clean Grid Alliance (CGA), as well as the Carolinas Clean Energy Business Association (CCEBA). The defendants include the DOI, DOI Secretary Douglas Burgum, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), BLM Director Steve Pearce and other government agencies and their respective leaders.
The plaintiffs argued that federal actions have harmed the public interest by delaying and preventing the development of wind and solar projects, including those on land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). They claimed that around 57.2 GW of wind, photovoltaic, hybrid, and offshore wind capacity had either been cancelled or was at risk of being delayed or cancelled beyond 2029. According to data from Charles River Associates, this represents around $905 million in sunk capital invested in the affected projects. The plaintiffs also emphasised that actions by the DOI threaten the maintenance of a reliable, affordable and resilient power grid, which is currently struggling to meet record energy demand.
This dispute originates from a DOI memorandum issued on 15 July 2025, which stipulated that all wind and solar projects must undergo enhanced federal reviews after the passing of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). At the time of the memorandum, 2,000 GW of clean energy projects were awaiting grid connection. In November 2025, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) reported that over 116 GW of solar and energy storage projects in the US were facing uncertainty due to heightened federal scrutiny and permitting delays.
In a comment reported by local media, the plaintiff coalition stated that the injunction would immediately halt the Trump administration’s illegal permitting actions, which they claimed had discriminatorily sidelined wind and solar technologies. They also expressed their intention to restart affected projects nationwide. Sandra Purohit, Federal Advocacy Director at E2, commented that the court’s ruling had blocked an illegal regulatory attack that would have raised energy costs and slowed the development of urgently needed power sources. She noted that wind and solar remain the cheapest and fastest-to-deploy energy options available.
The SEIA welcomed the ruling as a victory for affordable energy in the US. The association’s Interim President and CEO, Darren Van’t Hof, described the decision as a constructive step towards enabling the US photovoltaic and energy storage industry to supply more energy to homes and businesses nationwide.
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