As consumers face skyrocketing electric bills, the Trump administration has been slow-walking the approval process for renewable energy projects across the U.S., The New York Times reported. The result has been yearslong delays or even the complete cancellation of some projects.  

What's happening?

Since January 2025, household electric bills in the U.S. have increased 13%, according to a report from Climate Power. Experts have attributed this increase to the inability of supply to keep up with growing energy demand, largely from power-hungry data centers. 

While one might expect this situation to inspire policymakers to adopt an all-of-the-above approach to bringing new electricity production online as fast as possible, that does not appear to be the case at the federal level. 

To the contrary, the current administration has delayed approval of new wind and solar energy projects to the point where many have been canceled altogether. 

"There's a real intention to slow these things down," said David Carroll of Engie North America, a company involved in wind, solar, gas, and battery projects, per the Times.   

Why is it important?

At a time when rising costs have made it increasingly difficult for millions of Americans to meet their basic needs, higher electricity prices have put even more strain on already stretched household budgets. 

In an attempt to keep prices down, utility companies have searched for new ways to meet the rising demand for power.

"Demand from utilities is astronomical," said Sandhya Ganapathy, chief executive of EDP Renewables North America, which develops wind and solar projects, according to the Times. "But now permitting is becoming much more difficult, which means many projects may never come online or take forever to come online." 

What's being done about it?

Recently, some renewable-energy companies have overcome efforts to block their projects by taking their cases to court.

For example, a federal judge recently ruled that a large wind farm project off the coast of New York state could resume construction despite the administration's efforts to block it. 

Similarly, a court decision in January allowed development of an offshore wind farm near Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, to proceed as originally planned.

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