Trump Administration Enacts Stricter Reviews on Renewable Energy Projects

The Trump administration's Department of the Interior is imposing additional political scrutiny on renewable energy initiatives, which experts warn may significantly slow down vital wind and solar projects across the nation.

In a move announced on Thursday, the Trump administration revealed plans to apply stricter political evaluations to wind and solar projects, potentially hampering renewable energy advancements across the U.S. The Interior Department issued a memo stating that various agency actions connected to new wind and solar power facilities will now require review by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, bypassing lower-tier agency staff.

This directive encompasses over 68 different types of agency actions, including federal permitting, environmental assessments, lease approvals, site planning, wildlife impact studies, and numerous other decisions. The agency claims that this initiative is designed to "eliminate preferential treatment for unreliable and subsidy-dependent solar and wind energy."

Industry experts suggest that the scope of the memo could lead to significant delays and bottlenecks for numerous ongoing renewable energy endeavors. While a limited number of wind and solar projects are constructed on federal territories managed by the Interior Department, many initiatives on privately-owned lands often engage with the agency to ascertain federal permit requirements to comply with wildlife protections and other regulations.

With the recent change, concerns have risen among industry stakeholders about potential setbacks in meeting renewable energy goals as the nation strives to transition towards cleaner energy sources.