Lawmaker says Defense is blocking more than 250 wind projects, criticizes Interior delays

A lawmaker said that federal reviews have stalled dozens of clean-energy projects and paused negotiations on projects with "hundreds of millions" of dollars invested, arguing that both the Department of the Interior and the Department of Defense are creating unjustified delays.

The lawmaker said negotiations "had to pause" because of "repeated illegal stop work orders on projects that had hundreds of millions of dollars invested in them and that were nearing completion that were completely unjustified." He criticized the Interior Department's handling of permits, saying, "His desk was the roach motel of clean energy permits," meaning paperwork and approvals were being held up indefinitely.

The speaker said the problem has shifted to the Department of Defense, asserting that "no projects pass muster" there under current review practices. "There are 250 wind projects, more than 250 wind projects, awaiting what is often a standard approval at the Department of Defense," he said, using that figure to describe the scale of projects stuck in the pipeline.

The lawmaker questioned the frequent invocation of national security as a reason for the delays, calling the idea "preposterous" and saying he did not think the Department of Defense was making a "good faith effort" to distinguish genuine security concerns from routine approvals.

He framed the pattern as a change in venue for obstruction — "Same game, different court" — and urged a more predictable, even-handed approach from the executive branch. The lawmaker said it was important to "build a track record of some degree of fair executive administration in this area" so that upcoming votes on related legislation would not be compromised by agency actions he said could "poison the well."

The remarks in the transcript were limited to criticism of agency review processes and calls for fair administration; no specific bill text, vote, or formal action appeared in the provided record.