All wind and solar projects now require heightened Interior Secretary review, delaying permits and approvals
Clean energy groups warn this move hampers AI growth, energy independence, and private investment momentum.
With 2,000 GW clean projects queued, critics say restrictions will hike energy costs and stall deployment
As part of President Donald J. Trump’s Energy Dominance agenda, the US Department of the Interior has announced heightened scrutiny and oversight of wind and solar projects, ending what it calls preferential treatment and reliance on subsidies.
All decisions and actions related to wind and solar energy projects will now undergo an ‘elevated’ review by the Office of the Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum. This includes land lease, rights-of-way, construction and operation plans, grants, consultations, and biological opinions.
The Department explains that it will remove ‘artificial advantages’ for wind and solar energy projects and create a level playing field for dispatchable, cost-effective, and secure energy sources such as clean coal and domestic natural gas. It aims to return to ‘common-sense’ permitting standards that support national security, grid stability, and job creation in the US.
“American Energy Dominance is driven by U.S.-based production of reliable baseload energy, not regulatory favoritism towards unreliable energy projects that are solely dependent on taxpayer subsidies and foreign-sourced equipment,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Lands and Minerals Management, Adam Suess.
The department’s statement follows the signing of Executive Order 14315 by President Trump, which ends subsidies for unreliable, ‘Foreign-Controlled Energy Sources.’ The Treasury Department has also been instructed to terminate clean energy production and investment tax credits (PTC and ITC) for wind and solar facilities, advancing the implementation of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) (see Trump Signs Executive Order To End Green Energy Subsidies).
Reacting to the development, Stephanie Bosh, Senior Vice President of Communications at the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), said, “Solar and storage is one of the only technologies available right now to meet the demand from AI, datacenters, and American innovation. There’s no question this directive is going to make it harder to maintain our global AI leadership and achieve energy independence here at home.”
According to the American Clean Power Association (ACP), data center companies are already exploring alternative options outside the US with surplus electricity supply like China, Canada, Iceland, and Southeast Asia.
At present, 95% of the projects waiting in line for grid connection in the US comprise wind, solar, and storage technologies, representing over 2,000 GW. This is more than enough to meet the country’s energy needs.
“Clean energy represented 93% of new capacity added to the grid last year because these sources are the best way to meet demand right now,” stated ACP CEO Jason Grumet. “It’s basic economics that cutting off the fastest and most affordable energy available to the grid just as demand surges will constrain our energy supply and lead to significant cost increases for American businesses and families.”
Ray Long, the President and CEO of the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), called it a ‘tsunami of red tape and roadblocks’ for private investment in wind and solar, and akin to ‘handcuffing’ energy deployment.
“Requiring Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s personal approval on at least 69 distinct permitting actions — from site leasing to rights of way applications — on potentially hundreds of projects represents an unnecessary and inefficient approach to permitting that will lead to significant delays and uncertainty,” according to Long.
Analysts at Roth refer to their contacts to claim this diktat will not affect a great many number of solar projects since most solar projects are located on private land with no touchpoint with the federal government. Hence, these will not require an approval from the Interior Department.
However, they do caution the industry to watch out for a renewed enforcement of Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), expected in the coming 6 to 12 months—a meaning risk (see UFLPA Comes Into Force In The US).
Additionally, according to a recent Roth webinar with industry experts, the recently announced Section 232 investigation to be expedited and tariffs in place by Thanksgiving for year end 2025. The government aims to strengthen the country’s polysilicon production space (see US Launches National Security Investigation Into Polysilicon Imports.
.png?w=50&fm=png){kind=logo}