Bennet, Hickenlooper, Luján Demand Answers from Trump Administration on Prohibitive Red Tape for Low-Cost Wind and Solar Energy Projects

Nov 4, 2025| Press Releases

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) demanded answers from U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum on the Department of the Interior's (DOI) recent order requiring Secretary Burgum's personal approval for routine wind and solar energy project permitting decisions. In their letter, the lawmakers highlight that added red tape threatens to permanently block wind and solar energy projects on both public and private land, while giving the Secretary discretion to pick winning and losing clean energy projects, and driving up energy costs across the West.

"We are writing to express concerns about the Department of the Interior's (DOI) recent Secretarial order, which puts forward new requirements for Secretarial approval for routine permitting steps that risk delaying or blocking low-cost wind and solar energy projects," said Bennet, Hickenlooper, and Luján.

"This ensnares virtually every ongoing wind and solar project in multiple layers of red tape and bureaucratic review, creating significant legal and regulatory uncertainty about timelines and raising questions about whether project approval is even possible. It also creates a significant deterrent to the development of new projects. This indefinite effective pause on wind and solar permits comes at a time of increasing energy demand and energy prices," continued the senators.

The senators emphasized the importance of clean energy in providing Western families, farmers, and businesses with reliable and affordable energy, generating 44 percent of electricity in Western states. Blocking the cheapest and most abundant type of generation jeopardizes grid reliability and abandons existing private investments. The senators demanded clarity on how DOI's new heightened reviews will affect current and future wind and solar energy projects, pointing out how this policy is irreconcilable with President Trump's stated goals of unleashing American energy and ensuring energy affordability.

"Western states have led the way in demonstrating that clean energy strengthens local economies and the electric grid, setting ambitious goals for its energy transition. Additional layers of federal bureaucracy could effectively stall new renewable projects, forcing Westerners to face higher costs, less reliable energy service, and fewer opportunities for economic growth," concluded the senators.

The text of the letter is available HERE and below.

Dear Secretary Burgum:

We are writing to express concerns about the Department of the Interior's (DOI) recent Secretarial order, which puts forward new requirements for Secretarial approval for routine permitting steps that risk delaying or blocking low-cost wind and solar energy projects. This order affects projects not only on federal lands, but also on state and private lands since DOI sign-off is needed at multiple steps during wind and solar project development - for example, ecological baseline studies, access road authorizations, federal wildlife permits, or utility corridor concurrences.

DOI's recent Secretarial order, Departmental Review Procedures for Decisions, Actions, Consultations, and Other Undertakings Related to Wind and Solar Energy Facilities, outlines an expansive list of 69 DOI decisions and actions related to wind and solar projects that now newly require your personal review, including routine steps such as right-of-way applications or biological assessments. This ensnares virtually every ongoing wind and solar project in multiple layers of red tape and bureaucratic review, creating significant legal and regulatory uncertainty about timelines and raising questions about whether project approval is even possible. It also creates a significant deterrent to the development of new projects. This indefinite effective pause on wind and solar permits comes at a time of increasing energy demand and energy prices. It is difficult to understand how these actions align with the President's stated goals of unleashing American energy and ensuring energy affordability. With that in mind, we seek to better understand DOI's rationale for these new policies and how they will be implemented in practice.

As you are aware, Western families, farmers, and businesses depend on reliable and affordable energy to power their homes, grow their crops, and keep our economy competitive. Clean energy is a cornerstone of that effort - generating 44 percent of electricity in our states while supporting good-paying jobs in both urban and rural communities and strengthening the region's energy security. As the least expensive and fastest-to-deploy sources of new electricity generation, wind and solar are critical to meeting rising demand while keeping electricity affordable.

The Western Interconnection projects a 17% increase in peak demand between 2024 and 2034. Meeting this increase in the most affordable way will require 68 GW of additional solar and 40 GW of land-based wind over the next decade. Yet, DOI's new policies effectively take these options off the table. If federal permitting for solar and wind does not resume soon, our states risk losing projects already in development. Cancellations or indefinite delays of this scale would eliminate expected capacity from the interconnection queue, jeopardizing energy reliability while increasing costs for Western families and businesses.

We request answers to the following questions:

1. How will DOI's new heightened federal reviews be applied in practice? Specifically
   1. Will this be applied to all projects or will certain projects be exempt?
   2. If certain projects are exempt, can DOI lay out the criteria and process for an exemption?
   3. How will DOI ensure transparency in this review process to provide certainty to developers and stakeholders?

1. How will DOI ensure timely approvals for wind and solar projects for all 69 listed items on the heightened review list given the likely bottleneck created by elevating 69 new decision and action items to your office?

1. Can DOI clarify how impeding the development and deployment of the lowest-cost and most widely available energy sources is consistent with the Administration's stated goals of unleashing American energy and ensuring energy affordability? Has DOI conducted any internal legal, environmental, or economic analyses to evaluate the effects of this order on the nation's ability to meet those goals?

1. The DOI Secretarial order defines actions broadly enough that it not only affects solar and wind projects on federal lands, but also state and private lands. Please explain why projects largely dependent on state and private development should be subjected to heightened federal reviews?

1. To what extent, if at all, has DOI consulted with any relevant authorities - such as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Department of Energy, or state Public Utility Commissions - to assess the potential implications of DOI restricting wind and solar power permitting on grid reliability? Specifically, has DOI examined how these new actions might impact resource adequacy, reserve requirements, or reliability metrics such as loss of load expectation if there's no new generation buildout?

Western states have led the way in demonstrating that clean energy strengthens local economies and the electric grid, setting ambitious goals for its energy transition. Additional layers of federal bureaucracy could effectively stall new renewable projects, forcing Westerners to face higher costs, less reliable energy service, and fewer opportunities for economic growth.

I urge you to address these questions swiftly and work in partnership with states to ensure that federal permitting supports, rather than undermines, efforts to build a secure and affordable energy future.

Respectfully,