The administration wants to reconsider federal permits issued under the Biden administration for proposed and operating wind farms along the East Coast.

The Trump administration is widening its attacks on U.S. offshore wind development, this time by siding with anti-wind groups that are seeking to strip projects of existing federal approvals.

Its latest target is New England Wind, a 2-gigawatt development proposed off the coast of Massachusetts. On Tuesday, the Justice Department asked a federal court to remand, or send back, a key construction permit, saying the Interior Department’s prior approval does not adequately explain how the project complies with the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.

The filing comes less than two weeks after the administration sought permission to reconsider permits for Revolution Wind — a 704-megawatt wind farm that is already generating power off the coasts of Connecticut and Rhode Island. Interior also recently requested to take another look at Maryland Offshore Wind, a 1.7-GW project proposed near Ocean City, Maryland. 

The actions are part of larger legal proceedings brought by offshore wind opponents, with ACK for Whales challenging New England Wind, Green Oceans going after Revolution Wind, and the Town of Ocean City fighting Maryland Offshore Wind. The administration is essentially saying it agrees with their complaints against the federal government and wants to reopen the approval process — and potentially arrive at a different decision — for projects that have already been cleared.

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