Clean energy industry and advocacy groups are suing the U.S. Department of Defense over a stalled review process they say has halted onshore wind development proposals.
Why This Matters
The effect on the wind industry involves at least 125 proposed projects in 25 states with billions of dollars in sunk costs.
Industry concern about the slowdown has been growing since mid-2025. In early May, industry sources told news media that proposals with a nameplate capacity of roughly 30 GW and a combined price tag of around $32 billion were stalled in review. (See Industry Worried Federal Onshore Wind Review is Stalled.)
In their complaint filed May 31 in U.S. District Court in Oregon (3:26-cv-01092), the plaintiffs ask the court to set aside the freeze DOD has imposed on its review process, order it to provide status reports on its review of wind projects, and set deadlines to move forward with reviews that are stalled.
A DOD official on May 5 told RTO Insider the department still was actively reviewing land-based wind project plans, but it is an inherently complex and time-consuming effort. The official did not say why it might have suddenly become more complex or more time-consuming in mid-2025, around the same time the Department of the Interior made its own renewable energy review process so complex as to be nearly paralyzing. (See Feds Pile on More Barriers to Wind and Solar.)
Wind turbine installations are subject to review by the Federal Aviation Administration and DOD because of their potential impact on civilian and military aviation and radar. But until DOD completes its review, the FAA cannot finish its own review and issue a determination of no hazard, which is a de facto prerequisite for construction of a wind farm.
DOD’s Military Aviation and Installation Assurance. The Siting Clearinghouse was established in the early 2010s to create a standardized, timely, and transparent process to review energy proposals’ potential risk to national security through evaluation of impacts, development of technical solutions, and stakeholder engagement with other governmental entities.
It functioned well even as its workload increased due to the growth of the wind industry, an industry source told RTO Insider, until President Donald Trump was re-elected with a pro-fossil agenda and a strong dislike of wind power.
In their complaint, the plaintiffs say:
- The review process ground to a halt shortly after the August 2025 confirmation of Dale Marks as assistant secretary of defense for energy, installations, and environment.
- The DOD on April 13 instructed staff working on wind reviews to halt all their work indefinitely and issued interim guidance on May 7 that all wind energy projects were subject to an indefinite hold while DOD conducts further interagency coordination.
- Though the review process applies to a wide variety of energy projects, the freeze applies only to utility-scale wind; staff have been directed to review other types of energy projects promptly.
- This is contrary to the federal Administrative Procedure Act as well as DOD’s own internal regulations.
- The effect on the wind industry is catastrophic, affecting at least 125 proposed projects in 25 states with billions of dollars in sunk costs.
The resulting threat of defaults ripples through the workforce, supply chain, and markets for renewable energy certificates.
The plaintiffs are Advanced Power Alliance, Alliance for Clean Energy New York, Clean Grid Alliance, Green Energy Consumers Alliance, Interwest Energy Alliance, Maine Renewable Energy Association, RENEW Northeast, Renewable Northwest, and Southern Renewable Energy Association.
Named as defendants are Defense Secretary Peter Hegseth, DOD’s Marks, and the clearinghouse.
