Connecticut joins lawsuit accusing Trump administration of blocking wind projects

HARTFORD — Connecticut has joined a coalition of states and renewable energy groups in a federal lawsuit accusing the U.S. military of blocking new land-based wind farms by freezing national security reviews. 

State Attorney General William Tong said Thursday that the Pentagon under President Donald Trump stopped reviewing projects last August, effectively halting wind energy development across the country. 

“We are suing to stop the Trump Administration from unlawfully freezing projects, driving up costs and making it harder to build the energy infrastructure we desperately need,” Tong said in a statement. 

The lawsuit was originally filed last month by several renewable energy groups and has since been joined by 18 states. The suit claims the backlog is threatening $47 billion in investments in at least 106 wind projects. 

Though there are no pending projects in Connecticut, Tong claimed the state has been harmed because it purchases electricity from other states where onshore projects are currently on hold, including Maine.  

The lawsuit alleges the delays have hampered the state’s “statutory goals” of increasing renewable energy sources to at least 37% by 2030 and reaching economy-wide net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. 

Tong said the federal government has not provided a “reasonable explanation” for the sudden change in policy, accounted for the harm to states or considered the major investments relying on the review process. 

“The Trump administration is once again standing in the way of affordable, clean, reliable energy for no valid reason,” Tong said. 

Trump has repeatedly derided wind energy projects, calling turbines ugly and expensive. Last month, his administration announced it would pay North Carolina-based Duke Energy $129 million to cancel an offshore wind farm, The New York Times reported. 

Under federal law, wind turbines taller than 200 feet must be reviewed by the Federal Aviation Administration. The agency then refers the projects to the Pentagon to determine whether they may affect military operations, radar, flight paths or national security, Tong said.   

The plaintiffs are asking a federal judge to order the federal government to resume reviewing and approving the projects.  A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment.