Trump administration withdraws appeal of wind-permitting freeze ruling, lifting legal cloud over new projects
The Trump administration has dropped its appeal of a federal court decision that struck down the presidential executive order freezing wind energy permitting, Windpower Monthly and Recharge News report. The withdrawal is effectively an admission that the permitting ban cannot survive judicial scrutiny. For operators and developers with projects in the federal permitting queue, the ruling's survival means the administrative pathway to new permits is nominally restored, though separate lease-cancellation deals show policy headwinds remain. Insurers and lenders evaluating U.S. project risk should distinguish between the permitting channel — now re-opened by court order — and the administration's ongoing use of financial settlements to retire individual leases.
Read at Windpower MonthlyEquinor drops 10 GW renewables target and quietly raises investment hurdle rates for offshore wind
Equinor has formally abandoned its target of reaching at least 10 GW of renewables capacity by 2030, with the company's CEO acknowledging the target was one the firm had 'never chased', Windpower Monthly reports. A separate Recharge News analysis details how Equinor has incrementally raised its internal return thresholds for offshore wind projects, effectively pricing out lower-margin opportunities. The shift is consistent with a broader retreat by oil-major-backed developers from speculative offshore wind positions. Asset managers benchmarking portfolio IRRs against industry norms should note that major sponsors are now applying materially higher hurdle rates than prevailed during the 2020–2022 auction cycle.
Read at Windpower MonthlySerious safety incidents rise in UK onshore wind sector despite higher hours worked
The number of 'high potential' health and safety incidents — those capable of causing life-changing injury or death — increased in the UK onshore wind industry last year, according to data reported by Windpower Monthly and reNews. The spike occurred alongside a rise in total hours worked, complicating direct rate comparisons, but the absolute count of serious near-misses grew. For operators and their insurers, the trend is relevant to underwriting assessments of UK onshore wind O&M activities and may prompt insurers to revisit workers' compensation and liability terms at renewal. Industry bodies have not yet published revised guidance in response to the data.
Read at Windpower MonthlyEach item is generated by AI from publicly available wind-energy press, with the source cited. Headlines and summaries are written by a language model and may contain errors — always check the source link. The briefing does not promote Turbit, its products, or any other predictive-maintenance vendor.
AI-generated · curated by Turbit · independent reporting