EXCLUSIVE: Trump admin nixes giant wind farm approved 'last-minute' by Biden team
The Lava Ridge Wind Project, approved in December 2024 by the Biden administration's Bureau of Land Management, was expected to be a 1,000-megawatt wind farm with up to 231 wind turbines across nearly 57,447 acres in southern Idaho.
Following a review of the project by the Trump administration, officials at the Interior Department claimed to find "crucial legal deficiencies" with Biden's approval of the project, including certain statutorily binding criteria that were ignored, according to a press release announcing the decision to terminate the wind farm project.
"Under President Donald Trump's bold leadership, the Department is putting the brakes on deficient, unreliable energy and putting the American people first," said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. "By reversing the Biden administration's thoughtless approval of the Lava Ridge Wind Project, we are protecting tens of thousands of acres from harmful wind policy while shielding the interests of rural Idaho communities. This decisive action defends the American taxpayer, safeguards our land, and averts what would have been one of the largest, most irresponsible wind projects in the nation."
The Interior Department's action follows a Day One executive order signed by Trump that moved to place a temporary moratorium on the controversial wind project. The order was followed up by another executive directive from Idaho GOP Gov. Brad Little, which directed state agencies to comply with Trump's order to halt the Lava Ridge project and other wind energy leasing in all areas within the Offshore Continental Shelf.
In Trump's executive order, the president also requested a new review be conducted by the Interior Department, citing the fact that the Biden administration may have skirted certain legal obligations associated with approving the Lava Ridge project.
Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador previously accused the Biden administration of not adequately reviewing the wind farm's potential risk to low-flying aircraft. According to Labrador, Federal Aviation Administration rules dictate that any structure over 200-feet tall must be evaluated for low-level flight hazards.
Labrador has also asserted that the Lava Ridge project would have mainly shipped generated power to California, as opposed to Idaho.
Meanwhile, Idaho GOP Congressman Mike Simpson accused the Biden approval process in a June op-ed of failing to "genuinely engage with stakeholders to address concerns about the Minidoka National Historic Site, grazing, wildfire response, and more."
"For four years, the Biden administration demonstrated that it would rather prioritize renewable wind power over multiple-use mandates directed by Congress," Simpson added.
In a press release put out Wednesday, the Interior Department said it was "restoring common sense to American energy policy by reversing the Biden administration's misguided, last-minute push to approve the Lava Ridge Wind Project."
"Under President Donald J. Trump, the Department of the Interior will no longer provide preferential treatment towards unreliable, intermittent power sources that harm rural communities, livelihoods and the land," the press release concluded. "The Department of the Interior will continue its review of wind energy leasing and permitting practices, with a focus on assessing the impact these developments have on our nation's natural resources and communities."
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14 minutes ago
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