As soon as President Trump started his second term, he declared war on the U.S. wind energy industry. On his very first day in office, he ordered federal agencies to halt permitting and leasing for wind projects—the first in a series of sweeping policy moves aimed at stymieing one of the nation’s fastest-growing sources of renewable energy. Now, it appears he’s waving the white flag.
The Trump administration has dropped its appeal to the court ruling that overturned the permitting and leasing freeze in December 2025, meaning the indefinite nationwide pause on wind energy projects is no longer enforceable.
That ruling was the result of a lawsuit filed in May 2025 by a coalition of attorneys general from 17 states and Washington, D.C., led by New York Attorney General Letitia James. The district court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, finding Trump’s January 2025 executive order to be “arbitrary and capricious and contrary to law.” The Department of Justice appealed the decision in February, then filed a motion for its voluntary dismissal on June 10.
States that challenged the administration’s “wind directive” are claiming victory. “New York’s wind projects will create jobs, strengthen our economy, and bring down New Yorkers’ electric bills,” Attorney General James said in a statement. “My office will continue to fight any attempt to undermine that progress.”
U.S. wind energy keeps on turning
The news comes as U.S. renewable energy generation continues to grow despite an onslaught of anti-renewable policies. Since Trump’s day-one wind order, his administration has made sweeping efforts to dismantle clean energy tax credits and impede project development through regulatory roadblocks and outright cancelations.
Federal courts have reversed many of these actions. The voluntary dismissal of the administration’s appeal is just the latest legal setback for its “energy dominance” agenda, which seeks to maximize domestic fossil fuel and nuclear production.
Just last week, a judge struck down the administration’s Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance that made it difficult for wind and solar projects to claim federal tax subsidies. However, the ruling comes less than a month before the deadline to phase out clean energy tax credits under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, according to The Hill.
The renewable energy sector has been surprisingly resilient to this political turmoil. According to a report published last week by the Environmental Defense Fund and Atlas Public Policy, a record 79.7 gigawatts of clean power is expected to come online in 2026. The project pipeline is also looking healthy, with 222 GW of clean energy capacity planned or under construction nationwide. That amounts to roughly one-third of cumulative capacity announced through Q1.
At 123.3 GW, solar makes up the majority (56%) of planned or under-construction clean capacity, followed by batteries at 65.1 GW. Wind represents the bulk of remaining clean power capacity planned or under construction at 30 GW (14%).
The data is encouraging, and this latest legal victory for wind energy development will help clear the way for projects to move forward. With that said, the industry still faces major challenges under the Trump administration.
On Friday, for example, a coalition of renewable energy groups asked a federal court to order the Pentagon to resume reviews of onshore wind projects. More than 10 planned wind projects across 21 states have been paused indefinitely since April, representing an estimated $47 billion in potential investment, the New York Times reports.
So, the fight is far from over. The Trump administration may have surrendered its wind order, but it certainly won’t reverse course on its fossil-fuel-focused agenda.
