With Electricity Costs Rising Nationwide, Heinrich Leads Letter with Wyden, Van Hollen, and Rosen in Calling on Burgum to Revoke July Directive Blocking New, Cheaper Energy From the Grid

WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, led U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), in sending a letter to U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary Doug Burgum to rescind a July 15^th, 2025, directive that requires solar and wind projects have his personal approval.

Heinrich has vocally opposed the Trump administration’s actions that slow-walk clean energy project approvals on public lands, stating that “the cheapest electrons that we can put into the supply side of that equation are all stuck on Secretary Burgum’s desk.” When Secretary Burgum sent out his directive last July, he demanded in a letter sent to Secretary Burgum, that he rescind his de-facto moratorium on clean energy project approvals. Earlier this month, he delivered a floor speech blasting the Trump administration for leaving 22 gigawatts of new energy off the grid with this guidance alone.

“We write to follow up on our August 1, 2025, letter regarding a directive you signed requiring your personal review and approval of every wind and solar energy project on public lands. That letter raised serious concerns about the legality, rationale, and consequences of this policy. The consequences of this directive have only grown more severe,” wrote the lawmakers. “The July 15 directive has functioned as a de facto moratorium on new wind and solar approvals on federal lands.”

Focusing on the legality of the action, the lawmakers continued, “It has become clear that following this July 15 directive, the Department’s current approach disregards congressional intent and the law and replaces it with arbitrary delays, political interference, and uncertainty.”

The letter concluded with the senators demanding answers to several questions on the stalled solar and wind projects, and the legal argument for Secretary Burgum’s actions.

Read the full letter here and below:

Dear Secretary Burgum:

We write to follow up on our August 1, 2025, letter regarding a directive you signed requiring your personal review and approval of every wind and solar energy project on public lands. That letter raised serious concerns about the legality, rationale, and consequences of this policy. The consequences of this directive have only grown more severe. The July 15 directive has functioned as a de facto moratorium on new wind and solar approvals on federal lands. It is estimated that 18 GW of solar and storage projects have been cancelled or are inactive, with an additional 4 GW of onshore wind halted according to the BLM website. Although this directive does not explicitly affect private and state lands, it has indicated an administrative unwillingness to move forward on wind and solar projects, stalling an additional 500 projects and putting 117 GW in jeopardy. On August 20, 2025, President Trump posted on Truth Social “We will not approve wind or farmer destroying Solar.”

At a time when electricity prices have risen an average of 13% and electricity demand is projected to increase by 32% by 2030, the Administration is actively blocking some of the cheapest, fastest-to-deploy sources of new power. These delays translate directly into higher electricity bills, lost jobs, and reduced grid reliability for communities across the country.

These projects are not optional; they are mandated by law. Congress passed the Energy Act of 2020 (Division Z of Public Law 116–260), which explicitly directed the Department of the Interior and BLM to facilitate renewable energy development on public lands. Congress also established Renewable Energy Coordination Offices (RECOs) to streamline and improve federal permit coordination for onshore renewable projects. Further, the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (Public Law 118–5) established enforceable timelines under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), to ensure that reviews—including for clean energy—move forward in a timely manner. It has become clear that following this July 15 directive, the Department’s current approach disregards congressional intent and the law and replaces it with arbitrary delays, political interference, and uncertainty.

Accordingly, please provide the following by February 3, 2026:

1. A list of all wind, solar, storage, and associated projects currently awaiting Secretarial review, including the date each project entered review, its current status, and when project determinations should be expected.
2. The statutory authority the Department relies upon to require Secretarial-level approval for renewable projects exclusively.
3. An explanation of how this directive complies with NEPA timelines and other congressionally mandated permitting deadlines.
4. An estimate of the total generation capacity and economic impact associated with projects delayed as a result of this directive.

The American people need more affordable, reliable electricity — not less. Developers, utilities, and consumers all depend on a permitting system that follows the law.

We strongly urge you to rescind this directive and restore a permitting framework for renewable energy that is transparent, timely, and aligned with both the law and the public interest.

We look forward to your prompt response.

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