WASHINGTON - Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is restoring common sense to American energy policy by reversing the Biden administration's misguided, last-minute push to approve the Lava Ridge Wind Project, an enormous and unpopular 1,000-megawatt wind facility in southern Idaho, during the final days of the former president's term. 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, such as the Lava Ridge Wind Project and the radical Green New Scam agenda that burdens our nation and public lands.
Consistent with President Trump's memorandum, titled "Temporary Withdrawal of All Areas on the Outer Continental Shelf from Offshore Leasing and Review of the Federal Government's Leasing and Permitting Practices for Wind Projects," the Department reviewed the Biden administration's reckless December 2024 decision to approve the Lava Ridge Wind Project, which would have covered nearly 57,447 acres with up to 231 wind turbines. Following its review, the Department discovered crucial legal deficiencies in the issuance of the approval, including unique statutory criteria that were ignored.
"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."
Since the project's inception, Idahoans at the local, state and federal levels have voiced unified opposition to this wind project. In January, Governor Brad Little signed E.O. 2025-01 "Gone with the Lava Ridge Wind Project Act," which directed all state agencies to cooperate with the Trump administration's review process, and during the review, multiple state agencies provided the Bureau of Land Management with letters describing a significant lack of consultation throughout the original review process for the project. In addition, in February, the Idaho House of Representatives unanimously voted to oppose Lava Ridge.
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.
