Trump admin cancels Biden's massive wind farm plans

The Department of the Interior is canceling a wind farm approved under the Biden administration during former President Joe Biden’s last weeks in office. The wind farm, which was set to be placed in southern Idaho, would have been one of the largest land-based wind farms in the country. 

The Lava Ridge Wind Project was approved in December 2024 by the Bureau of Land Management under the Biden administration, which was expected to be a 1,000-megawatt wind farm with up to 231 wind turbines spread across around 57,447 acres.

Officials at the Interior Department, following a review of the project undertaken by the Trump administration, claimed to have found "crucial legal deficiencies" with Biden’s approval of the wind farm, "including unique statutory criteria that were ignored," per a press release from the Department of the Interior.

Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said, "Under President Donald Trump's bold leadership, the Department is putting the brakes on deficient, unreliable energy and putting the American people first. 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 project received "unified opposition" from Idahoans at the local, state, and federal levels, and Governor Brad Little signed an executive order in January titled "Gone with the Lava Ridge Wind Project Act," which directed state agencies to cooperate with the Trump administration’s review of the project. 

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," the Interior Department stated, and in February, the state House voted unanimously to oppose the wind farm project.