On August 6, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon granted the Motion for Preliminary Injunction filed by Plaintiffs, including energy trade organizations, environmental organizations, and several wind developers, requiring the Department of Defense to continue reviewing wind energy projects to determine if each project will have an adverse impact on military operations and readiness.
Before August 2025, the Department of Defense evaluated wind energy projects in accordance with various statutes and regulations, which included a predictable timeline for review. In August 2025, the Department of Defense stopped reviewing proposed wind energy projects when the Department of Defense refused to countersigning mitigation agreements. In December 2025, the Department of Defense also stopped providing wind developers with draft mitigation agreements. In April 2026, the Department of Defense cancelled further mitigation negotiations with proposed wind energy projects. On May 7, 2026, the Department of Defense issued interim guidance related to its internal review of energy projects that essentially froze review for wind projects.
Plaintiffs filed a lawsuit on May 31, 2026, alleging the Department of Defense’s review freeze on wind energy projects violates the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). On June 22, 2026, the Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint and a motion for preliminary injunction. The Motion for Preliminary Injunction requested the Court direct the Department of Defense to resume its review of proposed wind energy projects. The Defendants filed a Response to the Motion for Preliminary Injunction, and the Plaintiffs filed a Reply in Support of the Motion for Preliminary Injunction. Several stakeholders also filed amicus briefs in support of the Motion for Preliminary Injunction, including Conservative Energy Network (CEN), Conservative Texans for Energy Innovation (CTEI), a group of environmental organizations (Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Clean Air Task Force, Conservation Law Foundation, Environmental Defense Fund, Environmental Protection Information Center, Natural Resources Defense Council, New York League of Conservation Voters, and Sierra Club), a group of rural landowner groups (Center for Rural Affairs, Renew Missouri, CURE, Iowa Environmental Council, and Dakota Resource Council), a group of clinical professors of environmental law, and a group of several labor organizations (Climate Jobs Oregon, Climate Jobs Colorado, Texas Climate Jobs Project, Climate Jobs Illinois, Climate Jobs Washington, Michigan Climate Jobs, Climate Jobs Massachusetts, Maine Labor Climate Coalition, Climate Jobs New York Education Fund, Union Energy PA, and Iron Workers District Council of the Mid-Atlantic States). Oral argument on the Motion for Preliminary Injunction was held on August 4, 2026.
On August 6, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon granted the Motion for Preliminary Injunction. First, the Court held Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits of the APA claims because the Department of Defense’s review freeze violates statutory and regulatory deadlines governing the Department of Defense’s review of wind energy projects. Second, the Plaintiffs demonstrated they would suffer irreparable harm through economic harm. Third, the Plaintiffs demonstrated the balance of equities and the public interest weighed in favor of the injunction because the public interest is served by requiring the government to comply with law and the injunction only requested the Department of Defense continue its review of wind energy projects, not rule on any specific wind energy project.
Sanger Greene PC (Irion Sanger and Ellie Hardwick) represents the CEN and CTEI in this litigation.
CEN is a national network of 26 state and 13 local organizations championing secure, reliable, affordable, clean American energy. CEN leads conservatives wherever the conversation for a cleaner energy future is taking place and aims to restore American energy leadership, save Americans money, build American businesses, and secure the U.S. power grid. CEN believes market-based energy policies at the local, state, and federal levels will ensure the Nation remains energy dominant. CTEI is a Texas-based nonprofit organization dedicated to clean energy education and advocacy. Its mission is to promote energy innovation and technology-neutral, market-based energy policies that expand access to clean, affordable, and reliable energy.