By Jennette Barnes, WCAI
Massachusetts is one of 17 states, including New Jersey and the District of Columbia, that filed a lawsuit Monday against the Trump administration, challenging President Trump’s executive order on wind energy.
Trump halted all permitting and approval of wind farms — both onshore and offshore — on his first day in office Jan. 20.
Now, a Cape Cod energy consultant says additional states may quietly support the lawsuit.
Republican-led states that benefit substantially from wind power, often from land-based turbines, could be silently hoping Democrats get the injunction they’re seeking, said Chris Powicki, who has taught renewable energy courses at Cape Cod Community College.
“The impacts of the executive order have been huge, on not just the offshore wind industry, but the wind industry writ large,” he said.
Powicki also serves as Cape and Islands chair for the Sierra Club, which supports wind energy.
“I suspect, based on support for the wind industry in some of the Plains states, the so-called red states might be rooting for the blue states to win this one,” he said, at least in areas where the wind resource is substantial.
But if the lawsuit succeeds in winning a court order, he said, the administration could find other ways to halt wind development.
If you like this post, you’ll love our daily environmental newsletter, EnviroPolitics. It’s packed daily with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Please do not take our word for it, try it free for a full month
