The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) issued two memos in July 2025 in furtherance of President Donald Trump’s policies to eliminate subsidies for wind and solar projects on federal lands. These directives will impact developers of wind and solar projects on federal lands and potentially those on private lands.
On July 4, 2025, Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) into law, which includes the elimination of clean electricity production and investment tax credits for wind and solar facilities under sections 45Y and 48E of the Internal Revenue Code. Three days later, Trump issued Executive Order 14315, which further outlines how the DOI should take action under the OBBBA to end subsidies for “unreliable” energy sources. Termination of these tax credits marks a shift in energy policy from wind and solar to other energy sources such as nuclear, hydropower and geothermal — as well as oil and natural gas.
The DOI issued an initial directive on July 15, requiring the approval of the Office of the Secretary of the Interior for nearly every aspect of new wind and solar projects on federal lands. The new approval process, effective immediately, goes through three offices within the DOI. Submissions will go to the Office of the Executive Secretariat and Regulatory Affairs, then to the Office of the Deputy Secretary before landing on Secretary Doug Burgum’s desk in the Office of the Secretary.
Eliminating the tax credits and implementing the DOI’s approval process will immediately affect wind and solar projects on federal lands, including projects not fully constructed. The condition to seek approval from the secretary’s office could effectively kill new solar and wind projects on federal land. The required approvals also may impact projects that touch federal land or simply require federal approval, potentially extending to projects on private land. While these changes cannot prevent private parties seeking to develop solar and wind projects on private land, they can halt the projects by sitting on the approvals needed from the federal government to complete them. DOI’s directive inserts the secretary into the review process from the initial decision to begin a formal evaluation of a project application to the issuance of a record of decision approving it.
For example, developers must seek and receive approval from the Office of the Deputy Secretary and the Office of the Secretary for temporary operation permits, right-of-way grants, financial assurances, and draft and final environmental assessments. The DOI will decide if it will approve such requests and can bring to a standstill a project that needs a permit before it can proceed. Interior’s new approval requirements also apply to commonly used voluntary regulatory interaction, such as consultations under the Endangered Species Act and other laws respecting protected species. The DOI’s directive is silent on potential review criteria and timelines, which suggests further delays in project approvals. This new approval prerequisite creates an additional hurdle to an already arduous governmental process.
The DOI issued a second directive on July 29, 2025, implementing the executive order. This new policy directs the DOI to eliminate “preferential treatment” toward solar and wind facilities in its regulations, guidance, policies and practices. The directive, effective immediately, requires thorough review and identification of instances of “preferential treatment.” Once identified, the DOI must report on actions to eliminate such treatment, which could further stall solar and wind projects.
