The Missing Player in American Energy Expansion: The Arbitrary Fight Against Wind Power
Caitlyn Bell
The United States runs on energy, and with the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI), this need has grown and will continue to grow.[1] However, despite this extreme increase in demand and importance of supporting the demand, President Donald Trump has particularly opposed wind power and has taken a firm stance against this part of the energy market.[2] Although many within the United States population believe that all forms of energy should be utilized, President Trump has enacted policies that specifically target restricting the wind energy market.[3] These policies are particularly impactful because they have the potential to shape the entire energy market, including non-renewable sources of energy.[4] Thus, these policies seem to be arbitrary and do not actually support the very real energy needs of the United States.
Shortly after taking office in his second term, President Trump declared a national emergency with respect to energy, through Executive Order 14156, pursuant to the National Emergencies Act (NEA).[5] Within this executive order, President Trump stated that the domestic energy market within the United States creates financial hardship for the consumer, and that it was not sufficient to “meet our Nation’s needs.”[6] President Trump also mentioned that, consequently, this would also put the United States at risk and more vulnerable to foreign powers and threats.[7] Simultaneously, President Trump looked to the previous administration’s policies regarding energy market regulations, and began to dismantle them, including many which were enacted in an attempt to mitigate climate change.[8] President Trump extended this national emergency in the second year of his presidency, in January 2026.[9] This extension stated that the United States continued to need a “reliable, diversified, and affordable supply of energy to drive our Nation’s manufacturing, transportation, agriculture, and defense industries, and to sustain the basics of modern life and military preparedness.”[10]
However, despite declaring a national energy emergency and highlighting the need for “diversified” energy sources to meet current needs, President Trump is not in favor of all energy sources.[11] Despite wind energy accounting for around 10% of electricity within the United States, Donald Trump is an opponent of this source of energy.[12] During President Trump’s speech at the World Economic Forum in January 2026, he said that wind energy is for “stupid people,” highlighting his opposition to this form of energy.[13]
Donald Trump’s executive orders highlight the need for energy development in order to protect our national security.[14] However, his actions regarding wind power seem to contravene these efforts; wind energy has been cited by other countries as a valuable domestic resource to prevent global foreign externalities impacting energy availability.[15] For example, after Russia invaded Ukraine, many of the EU member states expedited their renewable energy development plans in order to lessen their reliance on external fossil fuel energy sources.[16] This sentiment is reflected in the United States, as well, where critics point out that halting wind projects will make the United States more vulnerable to national security threats and will prevent them from meeting energy demands.[17]
Despite wind energy production tripling globally since 2015, President Trump is not in favor of pursuing it within the United States.[18] On his first day in office of his second term, President Trump released an order that temporarily withdrew the outer continental shelf from offshore wind leasing and called for a review of all leasing and permitting practices for wind projects.[19] This memo is frequently referred to as the “Wind Order;” it has had significant negative implications for new offshore wind projects and wind energy projects overall.[20] This memo led to litigation to rectify the financial consequences faced by developers.[21]
After the publication of the memo, a coalition of 18 attorney generals sued, and eventually won, a lawsuit against President Trump’s freezing of wind farm development.[22] After the Wind Order, no permits were granted to developers for the development of new wind farms, and there was no deadline for when the assessment of leasing and permitting practices for wind projects would be completed.[23] Additionally, permits for projects with granted permits and a significant amount of money invested were effectively revoked retroactively.[24] Consequently, developers faced severe economic hardship and uncertainty regarding future and past permitting.[25] Furthermore, state energy policies were also impacted.[26] The court determined that the Wind Order was arbitrary and capricious, because there was no reason articulated for the order.[27] Additionally, the court found that the order also violated several provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act, because it prevented permits from being reviewed and processed in a reasonable time.[28] Therefore, the court overruled Donald Trump’s order that effectively halted wind projects with no legitimate reason for doing so.[29]
Additionally, the House of Representatives has also passed the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act that would, if passed by the Senate, in addition to other things, prevent presidents from rescinding permits on approved projects without a court order.[30] The SPEED Act was a major step in permitting reform relating to and limiting the scope of the National Environmental Policy Act.[31] The SPEED Act was promoted by the oil and gas industry, because it makes it less risky to invest in projects that could have permits revoked by future administrations who wish to move away from fossil fuel production.[32] The Wind Order set a troubling precedent for all parts of the energy sector, because investors saw how a change in administration could affect large-scale projects and essentially strip them of viability.[33] Although there seems to be adversarial tension between renewable energy and nonrenewable energy, the restriction of permits for either sector will set the permitting landscape overall.[34]
It is undeniable that the energy market is a critical component for the United States’ national security and economy, especially in the age of artificial intelligence, where data centers will place a tremendous strain on energy resources.[35] For example, technology companies including Meta and Microsoft are planning to open new nuclear power plants to meet AI energy demand, and it is estimated that by 2028, AI could consume approximately 22% of all energy within the United States.[36] Therefore, it is perhaps now more than ever important that we utilize all possible energy resources, particularly renewable energy resources, in order to supply these energy needs. This sentiment is reflected within the general population, and most Republican voters say that they think that we need to include all of the available energy sources when approaching the energy market.[37] This desired, ambitious approach to energy development is in conflict with President Trump’s approach to the energy market, where his negative stance on wind project development has been found to be plainly arbitrary and capricious.[38]
[1] Oliver Milman & Dharna Noor, How Trump’s Assault on US Wind Industry Threatens Jobs and Power for Nearly 5M Homes, Guardian (Sept. 24, 2025), https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/24/trump-wind-power-threats-homes.
[2] Euan Graham, Nicolas Fulghum & Katye Altieri, Global Electricity Review 2025 (Ember Apr. 8, 2025), https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/04/Report-Global-Electricity-Review-2025.pdf.
[3] Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions, 2025 CRES National Poll (Sept. 15, 2025), https://cresenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/CRES_Polling_2025.pdf.
[4] Nick Zenkin, Trump’s War on Wind Is Killing the Permitting Reform Oil and Gas Wants, Latitude Media (Mar. 3, 2026), https://www.latitudemedia.com/news/trumps-war-on-wind-is-killing-the-permitting-reform-oil-and-gas-wants.
[5] Exec. Order No. 14156, Declaring a National Energy Emergency, 90 Fed. Reg. 8433 (Jan. 29, 2025).
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] Id.
[9] Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect to Energy, 91 Fed. Reg. 1667 (Jan. 14, 2026).
[10] Id.
[11] Id.
[12] Miles O’Brien & Will Toubman, How Trump’s Attack on Wind Power Is Impacting the Energy Industry, PBS NewsHour (Jan. 15, 2026, 6:25 PM), https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-trumps-attack-on-wind-power-is-impacting-the-energy-industry.
[13] Joseph Gedeon, Eight Wars Settled and Chinese Windfarms: Factchecking Trump’s Davos Claims, Guardian (Jan. 21, 2026), https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/21/trump-davos-speech-factcheck.
[14] Exec. Order No. 14156, Declaring a National Energy Emergency, 90 Fed. Reg. 8433 (Jan. 29, 2025).
[15] Paweł Czyżak, EU Slashes Fossil Fuels, Ember (June 1, 2022), https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/eu-slashes-fossil-fuels/.
[16] Id.
[17] Miles O’Brien & Will Toubman, How Trump’s Attack on Wind Power Is Impacting the Energy Industry, PBS NewsHour (Jan. 15, 2026, 6:25 PM), https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-trumps-attack-on-wind-power-is-impacting-the-energy-industry.
[18] Euan Graham, Nicolas Fulghum & Katye Altieri, Global Electricity Review 2025 (Ember Apr. 8, 2025), https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/04/Report-Global-Electricity-Review-2025.pdf.
[19] Memorandum of Jan. 20, 2025, Temporary Withdrawal of All Areas on the Outer Continental Shelf From Offshore Wind Leasing and Review of the Federal Government’s Leasing and Permitting Practices for Wind Projects, 90 Fed. Reg. 8363 (Jan. 29, 2025).
[20] Wash. State Off. of the Att’y Gen., States Prevail Over Trump Attacks on Wind Energy Development (Dec. 9, 2025), https://www.atg.wa.gov/news/news-releases/states-prevail-over-trump-attacks-wind-energy-development.
[21] Id.
[22] Id.
[23] New York v. Trump, ___F Supp 3d___; 2025 LX 503370 *1,*49 (D Mass, Dec. 8, 2025).
[24] Joseph Gedeon, Eight Wars Settled and Chinese Windfarms: Factchecking Trump’s Davos Claims, Guardian (Jan. 21, 2026), https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/21/trump-davos-speech-factcheck.
[25] New York v. Trump, ___F Supp 3d___; 2025 LX 503370 *1,*21 (D Mass, Dec. 8, 2025).
[26] Id. at *47.
[27] Id. at *46.
[28] Id. at *51.
[29] Id. at *46.
[30] Nick Zenkin, Trump’s War on Wind Is Killing the Permitting Reform Oil and Gas Wants, Latitude Media (Mar. 3, 2026), https://www.latitudemedia.com/news/trumps-war-on-wind-is-killing-the-permitting-reform-oil-and-gas-wants.
[31] Id.
[32] Id.
[33] Id.
[34] Id.
[35] Oliver Milman & Dharna Noor, How Trump’s Assault on US Wind Industry Threatens Jobs and Power for Nearly 5M Homes, Guardian (Sept. 24, 2025), https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/24/trump-wind-power-threats-homes.
[36] Tom Simonite, How AI’s Soaring Energy Use Is Adding to Its Climate Footprint, MIT Technology Review (May 20, 2025), https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/05/20/1116327/ai-energy-usage-climate-footprint-big-tech/.
[37] Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions, 2025 CRES National Poll (Sept. 15, 2025), https://cresenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/CRES_Polling_2025.pdf.
[38] New York v. Trump, ___F Supp 3d___; 2025 LX 503370 *1, *46 (D Mass, Dec. 8, 2025).