Press Release  AG Campbell Intervenes To Protect Onshore Wind Energy Projects From Federal Freeze

Boston — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell today joined a coalition of 18 other attorneys general in moving to intervene in a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and Secretary Pete Hegseth for unlawfully freezing routine reviews of land-based wind energy projects across the country.  

Federal law requires DoD to review proposed wind projects for potential national security concerns and work with developers to address any issues. In August 2025, DoD stopped moving projects through this process, blocking wind energy development nationwide. AG Campbell and the coalition are asking the court to set aside DoD’s unlawful freeze and order the agency to resume the review process required by federal law.  

“The Trump Administration is continuing its campaign against wind energy by misusing a routine review process to effectively freeze onshore wind production across the country. This unlawful freeze impacts our ability to lower energy costs for Massachusetts residents and undermines our efforts to meet our clean energy goals,” said AG Campbell. “I am asking the court to order DoD to resume its review process so we can continue providing clean, reliable, and affordable energy to Massachusetts residents.”  

Under federal law, land-based wind project developers must submit any proposed projects with wind turbines over 200 feet tall to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for review. The FAA then refers these projects to DoD to assess whether they could affect military operations, radar systems, flight paths, or national security. For more than a decade, DoD engaged in a predictable review process and worked with developers to mitigate potential concerns. Mitigation measures often included changes to turbine placement or height, radar upgrades, or agreements to pause generation under certain circumstances.  

In August 2025, DoD abruptly stopped following this process. Officials stopped countersigning mitigation agreements, stopped sending completed agreements to developers for signature, and delayed or halted communications with developers about mitigation. As a result, wind projects across the country have been frozen at various stages of the review process, including those that had already completed mitigation negotiations and were awaiting only final DoD approval.  

Over 100 land-based wind projects with a total capacity of more than 29,000 megawatts have been blocked by DoD’s freeze. Approximately 37 of those projects fall within plaintiff states, including projects in Maine and New York which were expected to send energy to Massachusetts upon completion.   

AG Campbell and the coalition argue that DoD’s freeze is unlawful, arbitrary and capricious, and violates the Administrative Procedure Act. DoD has not provided a reasonable explanation for its sudden change in policy; accounted for the harm to states, developers, workers, and ratepayers; or considered the major investments made in reliance on its longstanding review process. The coalition also argues that DoD’s refusal to act is causing unreasonable delay and undermining Congress’s directive that DoD balance national security concerns with the responsible development of renewable energy. They are asking the court to require the agency to resume reviewing and approving land-based wind projects.  

This matter is AG Campbell’s latest effort to protect wind energy production and deliver clean, affordable energy to Massachusetts residents. In June, AG Campbell won her lawsuit against the Trump Administration, blocking its unlawful order to freeze all federal permitting for wind energy projects. Earlier the same month, AG Campbell filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of the Interior over its unlawful settlement with TotalEnergies, resulting in the cancellation of the company’s major offshore wind lease that would have supplied power to Massachusetts.   

Joining AG Campbell in intervening in this lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington.  

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