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TRENTON – New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin today joined a coalition of 18 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against the Trump Administration over its unlawful attempt to halt the development of wind energy.

“As New Jersey moves toward achieving 100 percent clean electricity sales by 2035, wind energy plays a crucial role in that vision,” said Governor Phil Murphy. “Wind energy has the potential to generate thousands of good-paying jobs, reduce harmful emissions, and secure a healthier, more sustainable future for all New Jerseyans. We are committed to reversing this disruptive action and will take every step necessary to get these projects back on track.”

“It is deeply disappointing that the Trump Administration is illegally attempting to block our state from developing new sources of power through their across-the-broad freeze on wind energy,” said Attorney General Platkin. “While the Trump Administration prioritizes the profits of oil and gas companies, we are standing up for working families, for our environment, and for the jobs being killed by this unlawful action. For our state and for our future generations, we are filing a lawsuit against the Administration and working to stop them from preventing the development of wind energy here in New Jersey.”

On January 20, President Trump issued a Presidential Memorandum that, among other things, indefinitely halted all federal approvals necessary for the development of offshore and onshore wind energy projects. Pursuant to this directive, federal agencies have stopped all permitting and approval activities, and in one case, have even stopped a fully permitted project in New York that had already begun construction. Wind energy is a homegrown source of reliable, affordable energy that supports hundreds of thousands of jobs, creates billions of dollars in economic activity and tax payments, and supplies more than 10% of the country’s electricity.

The lawsuit alleges that the President’s directive harms the efforts of New Jersey and other states to secure reliable, diversified, and affordable sources of energy to meet their increasing demand for electricity and help reduce emissions of harmful air pollutants, meet clean energy goals, and address climate change. The directive also threatens to thwart the states’ significant investments in wind industry infrastructure—investments that already total billions of dollars.

The lawsuit asserts that President Trump’s indefinite freeze on wind energy products will further impede the development of wind energy in New Jersey.  Wind energy has been expected to bring significant economic benefits to New Jersey, creating good-paying jobs in the state and reducing electricity costs for the state’s residents.  Wind energy development is especially critical at a time when utility costs are rising and the state needs additional energy generation to meet the needs of its residents.  The Murphy Administration has strongly supported the development of wind energy in New Jersey.

The coalition argues that the President’s directive and federal agencies’ subsequent implementation of it violate the Administrative Procedure Act and other federal laws.  The complaint argues that these actions are arbitrary and capricious because the Administration has not provided a reasoned explanation for categorically and indefinitely halting all wind-energy development—a sudden change that reverses longstanding federal policy and is inconsistent with recent federal actions that call for increased domestic energy production. The lawsuit also alleges that the abrupt halt on all permitting violates numerous federal statutes that prescribe specific procedures and timelines for federal permitting and approvals—procedures the Administration wholly disregarded in stopping wind-energy development altogether.

Joining Attorney General Platkin in filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of New York, Massachusetts, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington.

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