Earlier this week, Attorney General Frey issued the following statement following the US Disrict Court of Massachusetts’s Order favoring the coalition’s lawsuit:
“Mainers care about protecting our environment. Whatever the federal Administration’s position is on wind power, it does not have the right to arbitrarily ban development of this sustainable energy resource. I am gratified that the Court agreed that the Administration had once again, overstepped. My colleagues and I will continue to hold Trump accountable to the law.”
AG Frey was referring to the 47 page Order issued by the US District Court in Massachusetts in which Judge Patti B. Saris allowed the plaintiff’s motions for summary judgment; that means this case will not go to trial. The “Wind Order” issued by President Trump on January 20, 2025 was “vacated” by the Judge as well.
By way of background, on January 20 of this year, President Trump issued an execudtive memorandum – “Temporary Withdrawal of all areas on the Outer continental shelf from offshore wind leasing and review of the federal government’s leasing and permitting pracatices for Wind Projects.” The Wind Memo directed federal agencies to suspent issuing all new permits, leases and other authorizations needed to develop and operae wind energy projects, both onshore and offshore, pending a wide-ranging assessment of federal wind leasing and permitting practices. Seventeen states, the District of Columbia and the Alliance for Clean Energy New York brought the suit challenging the Wind Order.
A cursory reading of the Order by this “Left Wing Lunatic” revealed statementds worth repeating for this august body of readers: “Because Congress has not ‘committed to the sole discretion of the president’ the ability to suspend wind energy authorizations, the ‘usually applicable” arbitrary-and-capricious standard of the APA governs the Court’s review…….And, as the court now will explain, the Agency Defendants have not satisfied the standard.”
The Court states that the defendant’s defense rests solely on two documents: the “Wind Memo” and government’s written order suspending the issuance of renewable energy auhorizations pursuant to the Wind Memo. The Court in its 47 page ruling states that: “Indeed, the Agency Defendants candidly concede that the sole factor they considered in deciding to stop issuing permits was the President’s direction to do so.” On page 37 of the Court’s document, it says: “Whatever level of explanation is required when deviating from longstanding agency practice, this is not it.” On Page 45 of the 47 pages, the Court says: “Where, as here, a court determines that an agency action is arbitrary and capricious or contrary to law, the APA authorizes the oourt to “hold unlawful and set aside” that action.
The Judge’s Order was dated December 8, 2025.