1. The anti-renewable locavore – Republican lawmakers are aiming to empower localities to block renewables projects, a similar scene to what’s played out in Ohio, where state legislators gave towns the power to have a final word on development instead of state-led entities.
2. Sgamma thoughts – Trump selected Kathleen Sgamma, head of the pro-oil Western Energy Alliance, to head the Bureau of Land Management. What does this mean for renewables developers? It’s hard to tell because so much of her time was spent on a single mission: liberating as much oil from the ground as possible.
- The best and most predictable guess is simply that renewables will not be a priority for her. Sgamma coauthored the Interior Department section of Project 2025, which made just one reference to solar, criticizing Joe Biden’s leadership at the agency for “dramatically increas[ing] production of solar and wind energy.” The document made scant nods to renewables.
3. Contract law challenge – The Trump administration’s funding freezes are challenging the foundations of the compact between private industry and contracted government services. If you haven’t read it yet, I implore you to scroll through my colleague Robinson Meyer’s new article on the issue.
Here’s what else I’m watching…
In California, Democratic legislators have introduced a bill that would ensure the state keeps studying offshore wind port infrastructure despite Trump’s permitting freeze.
In Maryland, lawmakers are trying to
move permitting legislation under the banner of lowering utility bills.
