Trump 'emergency' energy project permitting in 28 days – but not for wind or solar
Interior Department order invokes Trump’s 'national energy emergency' despite making no mention of fast-growing renewables
Interior secretary Doug Burgum issued an order to reduce multiyear federal environmental reviews for fossil energy and critical minerals to as little as 14 days only a week after his agency stopped work on Equinor’s Empire Wind offshore array due to “rushed” approvals.
The Department of the Interior (DoI) said it would “implement emergency permitting procedures to accelerate the development of domestic energy resources and critical minerals.”
It invoked President Donald Trump’s 20 January declaration of a ‘national energy emergency’, stating the new permitting procedures “will take a multi-year process down to just 28 days at most.”
Trump entered office vowing to put an end to the “new green scam” of support for renewable energy and usher in an era of American “energy dominance” in fossil fuels.
“President Trump has made it clear that our energy security is national security, and these emergency procedures reflect our unwavering commitment to protecting both,” Burgum said.
“By reducing a multi-year permitting process down to just 28 days, the Department will lead with urgency, resolve, and a clear focus on strengthening the nation’s energy independence,” he added.
Going forward, DoI “will utilize emergency authorities under existing regulations for the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act,” the order said.
“Approval for the project was rushed through by prior administration without sufficient analysis or consultation,” Burgum said of Empire’s approval.
Research consultancy BloombergNEF found that Empire was in environmental review for 46.4-months, among the longest durations for an offshore wind array.
Most renewables were not on the list provided by DoI of energy sources up for streamlined permitting except for “kinetic hydropower”, also known as “run-of-river”, and geothermal.
Oil and gas, coal, and uranium were on the list, along with critical minerals.
The US installed a record 41.4GW of utility-scale solar capacity in 2024, up 33% from a year earlier, accounting for 66% of new energy added to the grid, according to a new report by Wood Mackenzie and Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).