A federal judge of the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts (United States) has ruled against the executive order suspending the issuance of all new permits, leases and authorisations for the development of wind projects in the United States (US Government press release, 08/12/2025). The court ruled the ban as “arbitrary and capricious and contrary to law,” and that the federal agencies had failed to provide a good justification for a measure, deeming the ban as unlawful.
In January 2025 the US president issued an executive order temporarily pausing offshore wind leasing on the US Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), mandating a review of the federal government’s leasing and permitting practices for wind projects, and discontinuing loans for onshore and offshore wind projects until “a comprehensive assessment and review of Federal wind leasing and permitting practices” was completed.