The Trump administration has expanded its fight against renewables from the ocean to the prairie, freezing hundreds of projects. (NYT)
The administration is now stalling 60+ projects on federal land and hundreds on private land by imposing new layers of political review on routine permits. SEIA estimates that 73 GW of onshore solar capacity is currently at risk due to this "blockade."
Agencies have barred developers from accessing taxpayer-funded wildlife databases, rendering it “impossible” for projects like Indiana's Patoka Solar to complete their permit applications.
And so: The grid is rapidly pivoting back to fossil fuels. After federal delays killed the Jackalope Wind project in Wyoming (which spanned an area the size of Chicago), Idaho Power canceled the contract and sped up plans to install natural gas engines instead.