Renewable energy groups are suing the U.S. military over delays in national security reviews for new wind farms on private land. The groups say the logjam jeopardizes $47 billion in investments and thousands of jobs in 21 states. The lawsuit against the Pentagon and Defense Secretary was filed in U.S. District Court in Oregon by nine groups, including Renewable Northwest and the Advanced Power Alliance. They allege that a policy of inaction "poses an existential threat to the wind energy industry across the nation by effectively halting all new development activity." The Pentagon says it has to balance new sources of energy against military needs. Late Thursday, the plaintiffs filed a motion asking the court to order the Pentagon to resume its ordinary review process for new wind energy projects. They included an economic analysis by global consulting firm Charles River Associates Inc. The Lone Star State has 54 wind projects that have been stalled as part of a larger, nationwide delay of 165 onshore wind projects, according to data reported by the American Clean Power Association. Texas leads the nation with the most installed wind power.
President Donald Trump frequently has talked about his hatred of wind power and calls turbines ugly. Currently, about 10% of the electricity generated in the United States comes from wind farms, making it the nation’s largest source of renewable energy. Solar is the fastest-growing. The ACP first raised the issue with the stalled national security reviews, sending a letter to the Pentagon in March to demand an explanation. CEO Jason Grumet said the U.S. wind industry needs the government to carry out the normal review and permitting processes to keep the lights on for families and businesses. If these 106 wind farms are built, they will provide nearly 30 gigawatts of electricity that could power millions of homes. Of that total, about 12 gigawatts is in Texas. The entire land-based wind industry supports over 380,000 jobs across all 50 states, according to ACP.