Under the leadership of President Trump, the Department of the Interior has canceled a project that would have established one of the largest land-based wind farms in the United States.
The "Lava Ridge Wind Project" was approved in December 2024 by the Bureau of Land Management under the Biden administration. The project would have established a 1,000-megawatt wind farm with 231 wind turbines across southern Idaho.
The announcement from the Department of the Interior said, "Under President Donald J. Trump, the Department of the Interior will no longer provide preferential treatment towards unreliable, intermittent power sources that harm rural communities, livelihoods and the land, such as the Lava Ridge Wind Project and the radical Green New Scam agenda that burdens our nation and public lands."
Officials at the Interior Department who reviewed the project reportedly discovered "crucial legal deficiencies" in Biden's approval as well as "unique statutory criteria that were ignored," according to a department press release. The canceled project would have covered nearly 57,447 acres of Idaho with wind turbines.
"Under President Donald Trump's bold leadership, the Department is putting the brakes on deficient, unreliable energy and putting the American people first," said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. "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."On day one of his current presidency, President Trump issued an executive order that placed a temporary moratorium on the Lava Ridge Wind Project. He requested that the Department of the Interior review the plan due to his concerns that the previous administration had unduly rushed the controversial project's approval.
Burgum said, "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."
The President's executive order was followed by an executive order from Idaho's Governor Brad Little titled "Gone with the Lava Ridge Wind Project Act." Little's act directed all state agencies to comply with Trump's order to halt the Lava Ridge project.
"For four years, the Biden administration demonstrated that it would rather prioritize renewable wind power over multiple-use mandates directed by Congress," said Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson in an editorial. He said that Biden's approval process failed to "genuinely engage with stakeholders to address concerns about the Minidoka National Historic Site, grazing, wildfire response, and more."
Simpson was not alone in his concerns. Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador accused the Biden administration of not adequately reviewing the wind farm's potential risk to low-flying aircraft. Federal Aviation Administration rules dictate that any structure over 200 feet tall must be evaluated for low-level flight hazards, according to the attorney general.
"Idahoans have spoken loud and clear over the last few years: the Lava Ridge Wind Project has no place in our state," said Simpson. "Today’s decision confirms that common sense and the will of the people prevailed."
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