FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 410-576-7009
Significant Environmental, Employment, and Economic Benefits for
Maryland at Risk
BALTIMORE, MD – Attorney General Anthony G. Brown today joined a
coalition of 18 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its
unlawful attempt to freeze the development of wind energy.
On January 20, President Trump issued a Presidential Memorandum that, among other things,
indefinitely halted all federal approvals necessary for the development of offshore and onshore
wind energy projects pending federal review. Pursuant to this directive, federal agencies have
stopped all permitting and approval activities and have even issued a stop work order to a fully
permitted project in New York that had already begun construction. Wind energy is a
homegrown source of reliable, affordable energy that supports hundreds of thousands of jobs,
creates billions of dollars in economic activity and tax payments, and supplies more than 10% of
the country’s electricity.
“The Trump Administration's outrageous and unlawful freeze on wind energy development is
nothing short of a direct assault on Maryland’s future climate security and economic prosperity.
Wind power provides hardworking Marylanders with well-paying jobs, strengthens our power
grid, and helps us fight the increasingly devastating impacts of climate change,” said Attorney
General Brown. “With this lawsuit, we are protecting the livelihoods of thousands of families
and standing firm against President Trump’s reckless attack on an industry that offers to secure
reliable, affordable, and clean energy for every Marylander.”
“The president's actions violate federal law and will make it harder for us to help Marylanders
keep the money they make. One of the best strategies for driving down utility costs is ramping up
clean energy production through wind power,” said Governor Wes Moore. “At a moment when
families are feeling the strain of high energy bills, we should focus on cutting red tape, not
halting critical infrastructure projects. I thank Attorney General Brown for standing by our
people, our economy, and the Constitution of the United States.”
The attorneys general allege that the President’s directive harms their states’ efforts to secure
reliable, diversified, and affordable sources of energy to meet increasing demand for electricity
and help reduce emissions of harmful air pollutants, meet clean energy goals, and address
climate change. The directive also threatens to thwart the states’ significant investments in wind
industry infrastructure, supply chains, and workforce development—investments that already
total billions of dollars.
Maryland specifically has invested heavily in wind energy as part of its plan to fight climate
change. State law requires Maryland to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2045, with wind
power serving as a cornerstone of this effort. In 2023, Maryland set an ambitious goal to develop
8,500 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2031.
The offshore wind industry is expected to be a significant source of good paying jobs and
economic benefits to the state. One project alone, the Maryland Offshore Wind Project by U.S.
Wind, is projected to support more than 13,000 jobs and bring over $6 billion in economic
benefits to Maryland.
Maryland has also committed millions in state funding to build a wind energy workforce and
supply chain, with $5 million allocated in Fiscal Year 2025 alone. All of these economic
opportunities and climate benefits are now at risk due to the administration's abrupt halt on wind
energy development.
The coalition argues that the Presidential Memorandum and federal agencies’ subsequent
implementation of it violate the Administrative Procedure Act and other federal laws because
they, among other things, provide no reasoned explanation for categorically and indefinitely
halting all wind energy development—a sudden change that reverses longstanding federal policy
and is inconsistent with recent federal action propping up other forms of energy. The lawsuit also
alleges that the abrupt halt on all permitting violates numerous federal statutes that prescribe
specific procedures and timelines for federal permitting and approvals—procedures the
administration wholly disregarded in stopping wind-energy development altogether.
In filing this lawsuit, the attorneys general are asking the Court to declare the President’s
directive illegal and prevent the administration from taking any action to delay or prevent wind
energy development.
Joining Attorney General Brown in filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona,
California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode
Island, and Washington.
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