THE 2025 FEDERAL ACTIONS ON OFFSHORE WIND
The Executive Order and Presidential Memorandum
On January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order (EO) instituting a broad review of all offshore wind power projects in federal waters. In the EO’s accompanying Presidential Memorandum, President Trump ordered the United States to do the following:
- Withdraw all areas within the Offshore Continental Shelf (OCS) from wind energy leasing consideration.
- Temporarily cease and immediately review the federal government’s leasing and permitting practices for wind projects.
- Extend the withdrawal for areas already withdrawn from disposition for wind energy leasing.
- Direct the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Attorney General, to conduct a comprehensive review of existing leases, as needed.
The EO explicitly did not apply to leasing related to any other purposes, including conservation or production of oil, gas, minerals, and environmental conservation. The EO will remain in effect indefinitely until the Presidential Memorandum is revoked.
Understanding the Presidential Memorandum
Under the new administration, offshore wind development faces increased regulatory hurdles. The EO presents the following obstacles:
- Leasing Prohibition. Any area within the OCS is barred from being considered for any new or renewed wind energy leasing. The heads of all relevant agencies are prohibited from issuing new or renewed approvals, rights of way, permits, leases, or loans for offshore wind projects. As of July 30, 2025, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management officially rescinded all designated Wind Energy Areas on the Outer Continental Shelf of the United States, which results in the de-designating of 2.5 million unleased acres in federal waters that had previously been tapped for offshore wind leasing.
- Assessments Preceding Prohibition. The prohibition on leases depends on a lengthy, comprehensive assessment and review of federal wind leasing and permitting practices. In consultation with other departments, the Secretary of the Interior is leading the assessment and considering: (1) the environmental impact of onshore and offshore wind projects upon wildlife, (2) the economic costs associated with the intermittent generation of electricity, and (3) the effect of subsidies on the viability of the wind industry.
- Existing Leases. For existing leases, the Secretary of the Interior and the Attorney General are: (1) reviewing the ecological, economic, and environmental necessity of terminating or amending any existing energy leases, (2) identifying any legal basis for such removal, and (3) submitting a report with recommendations to the President.
- Litigation. The Attorney General may provide notice of the executive order to any court with jurisdiction over pending litigation related to federal leasing or permitting of onshore or offshore wind projects. The Attorney General may also request that the court stay the litigation or otherwise delay future proceedings.
Administrative Actions Relating to the Presidential Memorandum
On August 7, 2025, the Department of the Interior announced that it “is launching a full review of offshore wind energy regulations to ensure alignment with the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and America’s energy priorities under President Donald J. Trump.” On July 30, 2025, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management also de-designated 3.5 million acres of unleased federal waters previously set aside for offshore wind development. Relatedly, on August 19, 2025, the Department of the Interior announced that it “[i]s rolling out a long-term schedule for offshore oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of America and Alaska’s Cook Inlet, as directed by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1).” This comes on the heels of a Department of the Interior secretarial order which temporarily suspended its subagencies’ authority to issue any onshore or offshore renewable energy authorization. This includes, but is not limited to, a lease, amendment to a lease, right of way, amendment to a right of way, contract, or any other agreement required to allow for renewable energy development. This series of actions marks a shift in focus from offshore wind to oil and gas development on the Outer Continental Shelf.
In March 2025, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requested a voluntary remand from the Environmental Appeals Board regarding Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind Project’s fully executed Clean Air Act permit, meaning that, while the permit has not been fully granted or denied, it has returned to a posture of review by EPA. The Environmental Appeals Board stated that Atlantic Shores had only a “not-yet-final” permit, concluding that the permit contained substantial analytical deficiencies, including improperly performed air quality modeling, a lack of consideration of offshore emission sources, and procedural flaws. The resumed review will reevaluate the project and its environmental impacts in light of President Trump’s EO. Executive branch agencies will evaluate any impacts resulting from the project, such as effects on birds, wildlife, fishing, and other relevant environmental concerns. Administrative action has not yet been publicly taken against any other offshore wind development projects that are already leased and in development, except as discussed in Section C.1 below.
THE STATES AND PROPONENTS RESPOND
States Push Back Against Federal Wind Energy Restrictions
Attorneys general from 17 states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit on May 5, 2025, alleging the President lacks the authority to impose an indefinite pause on offshore wind production. These states requested declaratory relief and a preliminary injunction directing the Trump administration to lift the freeze. The coalition claims that the government has no reasonable basis for instituting the freeze and instead relies on mere conclusory references that lack reasoning or support, as they fail to identify an instance in which previously approved projects actually fell short in review. If the policy were to remain in force, these states allege that clean energy companies that have invested billions of dollars in the wind industry would face serious economic harm.
The lawsuit alleges that the EO could erase nearly $100 billion in investments and cost 40,000 jobs if left in place throughout the President’s term. A report attached to a parallel request for a preliminary injunction, filed in the same case by the Alliance for Clean Energy New York–which intervened as a plaintiff in the coalition’s case–claims that permitting the freeze would result in $12 billion in lost investment if lifted by the third quarter of 2025, $43 billion if left in place until 2026, and $96 billion if the policy stays in place through 2029. As of August of 2025, the lawsuit has survived a motion to dismiss and motion for summary judgment papers are pending.
Effects of the Trump Administration’s Offshore Wind Pause
The Trump administration’s freeze on offshore wind project permitting and development has been characterized by proponents as an “existential threat to the wind industry.” The sweeping directive to halt federal reviews and permitting of such wind farms creates uncertainty over whether projects slated to be built can secure necessary approval and financing. Developers without federal approvals must now contend with an administration resistant to wind development. This could result in longer timelines and higher costs. This change is likely to alienate investors and chill offshore wind development in the United States.
- Investor Instability and Major Withdrawals: Political uncertainty surrounding offshore wind in the United States has led to the withdrawal of investors, causing major impacts on project economics and viability. These decisions have been driven in part by federal actions and permitting delays.
- Regulatory Uncertainty and Delays Across Clean Energy Projects: Because the order imposes no timeline for reviews, offshore wind projects will face challenges related to efficiency and certainty. Additional delays will result from the DOJ’s pause in any litigation over the projects pending revised environmental reviews, as well as from litigation challenging any denials of permits, which will only add more time and expenses to a project. The subsequent Department of the Interior’s secretarial order could also lead to delays even for non-wind projects, such as solar, since the order’s language could be broadly interpreted to cover any project deemed as “renewable energy,” thereby backlogging the renewable energy workspace.
- Cross-Agency Impacts on Permitting and Review: Another area of uncertainty is how far a review of, and changes to, approvals will extend throughout the federal government. For example, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) must issue a “Determination of No Hazard” for virtually all wind projects, and Trump’s order may change how the FAA issues such determinations.
Regulatory uncertainty in the United States–compared to other markets–has caused wind developers to pause when deciding whether and where to invest. This is in large part due to the January 20, 2025, executive order that creates a complex, multi-agency permitting and regulatory process for offshore wind developments.
A Light at the End of the Tunnel for Offshore Wind Development
The EO is less likely to have an existential impact on offshore wind projects that have already been permitted, as the order specifically halts new or renewed permits, approvals and leases. Additionally, although the administration gave the Department of the Interior the power to review existing permitted projects and make a recommendation as to whether those should be revoked, revoking already-issued permits will likely be met with substantial legal challenges. Developers will make a legal case to put any such revocation on hold.
- East Coast: Federal-State Collaboration Revives Offshore Wind Project
On April 16, 2025, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum called for a freeze on the Empire Wind offshore wind energy project south of New York’s Long Island, stating there needed to be further review of information that suggested the Biden administration rushed through its approval without sufficient analysis. Project developer Equinor ASA met with regulators as well as federal, state and city officials. On May 19, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Interior lifted its stop-work order on the project, allowing construction to resume. New York affirmed that it will work with the administration and private entities on new energy projects that meet the legal requirements under state law.
However, on August 22, 2025, the acting director of BOEM issued an order for a nearly complete offshore wind farm to halt work while the agency addressed concerns identified during the review undertaken pursuant to the President’s Memorandum of January 20, 2025. The implications of this action for the offshore wind farm in question are as yet unknown.
- West Coast: California’s Commitment to Renewable Energy Development
The President’s order banning new offshore wind leases will have no immediate effect on offshore wind leases already authorized off California’s coast. Although California projects may still require federal approval, the projects will rely on state agencies to shepherd many of the next phases rather than federal ones. Much of the advancement of offshore wind in California is happening at the state level, and the state is reported to be “bullish” about offshore wind thus far, with multiple agencies expediting reviews and planning.
California has also previously enacted two laws to accelerate the development of offshore wind energy, including the California Offshore Wind Advancement Act (AB 3). These laws aim to streamline offshore wind permitting processes, promote collaboration among state agencies and interested parties, and support the development of a seaport readiness strategy and other in-state manufacturing goals. California is also part of the coalition of 18 states that filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s attempt to freeze the development of offshore wind energy.
Actual construction of offshore wind facilities off California’s coast is three or four years away. Rather than focusing on current obstacles, California’s offshore wind industry is instead focused on building ties with unions and tribes for political goodwill and securing millions in state funding to hit the ground running in 2029 and beyond. Many engineers in charge of California’s offshore wind projects are also focusing on securing more state and private funding, and view Gov. Gavin Newsom’s revised budget proposal as a win for offshore wind amidst cuts to federal spending.
What Offshore Wind Developers Can Do
The federal freeze raises hurdles but does not halt all pathways. Projects with strong records, state-aligned strategies, and contract structures built for delay can keep momentum and defend schedules. The work you do in the short term may decide how quickly you restart when federal lanes reopen—and how resilient you are if agency reviews continue to intensify. Those actions may include the following:
- Map your posture. For each project, confirm lease status; federal permitting milestones; state offtake commitments; interconnection status; and critical-path construction packages.
- Harden the administrative record. Anticipate remand or reopened reviews. Refresh technical reports (avian/marine, fisheries, viewshed), update modeling, and ensure procedural completeness.
- Preserve schedule optionality. Reevaluate construction windows; model alternative sequencing (foundations, export cable, onshore works) that can advance under state/local jurisdiction while federal items are stayed.
- Paper the risk. Align contract clauses on change in law, permitting delay, force majeure, and liquidated damages; add specific references to federal freeze/review events.
- Engage early, document often. Maintain proactive contact with BOEM, EPA, USACE, NMFS and USFWS; memorialize meetings; submit targeted information updates to demonstrate diligence and mitigate later claims of analytical gaps.
- Coordinate with states. Use active state agencies (e.g., New York, New Jersey, California) to advance elements within their control—permitting, port upgrades, supply-chain siting and workforce programs.
- Litigation readiness. With counsel, evaluate options for protective filings (e.g., stay oppositions, preliminary injunctions), and prepare declarations and expert materials to support schedule protection if federal actions escalate.