A Massachusetts federal judge has halted five separate orders from the Trump administration that hampered the development of federally overseen renewable energy projects. Chief Judge Denise Casper of the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts filed a request preliminary injunction on Tuesday blocked those orders, saying they violate an administrative procedure law and harm renewable energy developers.
Credit: EDP Renewables North America
“Today the courts rightly blocked illegal regulatory attacks that drive up energy costs and delay the development of new electricity sources we urgently need,” said Sandra Purohit, federal advocacy director at E2. “Wind and solar energy remain the cheapest and fastest-deployable energy sources we can build. The law does not allow agencies to rig the process against them.”
The preliminary injunction was filed on behalf of defendants from renewable energy advocacy groups. It alleges that these orders from the Trump administration have prevented renewable energy developers from getting their projects reviewed through the necessary Department of Interior processes.
The five orders subject to this preliminary injunction are a July 2025 memo that expanded the DOI’s permit review process for solar and wind energy projects; another that banned solar and wind energy projects from using the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s online environmental assessment planning tool; an order of DOI Sec. Doug Burgum titled “Management of federal energy resources and protection of the environment;” a memo from the US Army Corps of Engineers on permitting energy projects; and a DOI order regarding development projects in U.S. seas and lands on the outer continental shelf.
Industry groups have pushed back at the federal level against the Trump administration’s opposition to renewable energy development. In December 2025, the Solar Energies Industry Association organized and sent a letter signed by 143 solar companies to the U.S. House of Representatives after the DOI halted virtually all related permits for solar projects. A month earlier, the group also published an analysis estimating that 500 solar and energy storage projects, representing 116 GW of energy capacity, were affected by these permitting changes.
“This ruling is a victory for affordable energy in America, a victory for American consumers and a victory for workers. Energy costs are rising for Americans, and the only way to put downward pressure on prices is with more power, not less,” said Darren Van’t Hof, interim president and CEO of SEIA. “Low-cost, rapid-deployment solar and storage are critical to achieving the Trump Administration’s goals of keeping costs low for Americans and strengthening our AI leadership on the global stage. This is a constructive step forward to help the U.S. solar and storage industry build and deliver more American energy to homes and businesses across the country.”
