Ending the Trump administration’s “blockade” on solar permits has emerged as a top demand from the solar industry and Senate Democrats as the permitting reform debate heats up again in Congress. 

“Anything with a federal nexus, not just on federal land, but where there is a federal nexus, is effectively banned,” Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) said during a Tuesday event in Washington, D.C. “Even if the only thing you care about is the price of an electron, this solar ban is creating an electron shortage across the country, and that’s before the ramp-up of data centers and an increased load.”

Schatz added that any overhaul of how energy projects are permitted can’t “make the world safer” for fossil fuels but not solar projects. His comments follow a letter that the Solar Energy Industries Association sent to Congress last week, asking them to fix what SEIA described as “discriminatory and unprecedented government overreach” by the Interior Department. Some 500 solar projects in the permitting pipeline have been impacted by the Trump administration’s actions, the group said. 

The issue is set to become a focal point of permitting negotiations on the Senate side next year. The House plans to vote next week on its own version of the legislation, known as the SPEED Act, which doesn’t address the Trump administration’s slow-walking of permits for renewable energy projects, nor other Democratic priorities like transmission infrastructure.

A spokesperson for the Interior Department said the existing Trump review process ensures that wind and solar projects receive appropriate oversight. “This policy strengthens accountability, prevents misuse of taxpayer-funded subsidies and upholds our commitment to restoring balance in energy development,” the spokesperson told Latitude Media.

New layers of scrutiny 

On his first day in office, President Donald Trump issued executive orders directing federal agencies to halt permitting for solar and wind projects while they reviewed leasing processes. Federal agencies followed up by adding extra layers of scrutiny. This included the Interior Department, which in July issued a memo requiring Secretary Doug Burgum’s office to give final sign-off, adding even more time to an already long process. (Just this week, a federal judge ruled that the initial executive order banning specifically new wind projects was illegal.)

Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) said at Tuesday’s event that he’s heard from rural electric cooperatives that Secretary Burgum seems to be “scouring” permit applications for any excuse to stop projects. That echoed complaints from SEIA, which, in its letter to Congress, said the Interior Department is implementing the memo in a way that amounts to “a nearly complete moratorium” on permitting for any renewables project the department plays a role in, on both federal and private land. 

A major bottleneck seems to be at the intersection of Interior and the Army Corps of Engineers, which falls under the Defense Department. Jefferies, in a research note to clients, said the Corps has effectively halted all consultations for projects sited on waters protected by the Clean Water Act — up to 85% of which have a nexus with Interior. 

Jefferies added that in response, renewable energy developers are prioritizing projects without federal involvement and curtailing spending on those with permitting uncertainty. Projects expected to come online in 2026 largely haven’t been impacted, but there is increasing risk for those slated for 2027. Further, those projects coming online in 2027 are running out of time to claim investment tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act, which could raise costs.

Hickenlooper said he’s optimistic the Senate can pass permitting reform, potentially in the first quarter of 2026, because various groups agree that it will advance their interests. 

“I think many in the environmental community may not be happy with everything we’re still negotiating in the permitting reform bill, but I think that we’re getting close,” Hickenlooper said.

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