Groups urge Court to End Federal Ban on Clean Energy Projects

BOSTON- Environmental groups weighed in today in support of a coalition of renewable energy industry groups challenging a series of actions taken by the Trump Administration to prevent federal permitting for wind and solar energy projects.

The lawsuit, filed in December by eight renewable energy groups, is challenging six actions by the Trump administration that unlawfully punish wind and solar development while elevating the fossil fuel industry. Today, environmental groups-NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), Conservation Law Foundation, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Environmental Defense Fund, Environmental League of Massachusetts, Environmental Protection Information Center, National Wildlife Federation, New York League of Conservation Voters, and Earthjustice on behalf of Sierra Club filed a friend of the court brief supporting the renewable energy industry groups' request for a preliminary injunction.

"These illegal actions undermine fair markets, ratepayer affordability, and state and local efforts to meet state climate and energy mandates," the groups say in their brief. It will increase "reliance on fossil fuels-an outcome that carries well-documented risks to public health, wildlife, and the environment."

The environmental groups' amicus brief focuses on the Department of the Interior's Secretarial Order 3438, the Army Corps of Engineers' new "capacity density" restrictions, and the Fish & Wildlife Service's Eagle Take Permit ban. All are unlawful and unsupported by adequate reasoning, the brief says.

"Although wind and solar are variable resources, they are critical to meeting grid reliability needs," the brief says. "Particularly because wind and solar energy are inexhaustible and geographically diverse, they have delivered more reliable electricity to Americans during extreme weather events, when fossil fuel sources-which are dependent on limited resources and vulnerable to supply chain interruptions-experienced higher levels of outages."

Currently, wind and solar account for 17% of U.S. electricity generation, with costs dropping dramatically in recent years.

The lawsuit is in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

"Renewable energy provides our country with a future that is cleaner, cheaper, and more reliable," said Sierra Club Senior Attorney Joshua Berman. "Over the last few years, we have seen renewable energy become the most affordable form of energy and outperform fossil fuels in times of severe weather. This administration's efforts to kneecap this booming industry in favor of expensive and polluting fossil fuels are unlawful, and these actions have driven up utility bills, killed stable jobs, and put Americans' health at risk."

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit https://www.sierraclub.org.