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By Ian M. Stevenson | 04/07/2026 01:27 PM EDT
Wind and solar companies say they can’t use the mapping tool, which can quickly determine issues with endangered species or habitat.
A wind turbine and solar panels are seen in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Mel Evans/AP
The bureaucratic hurdles erected by the Interior Department for wind and solar projects get down into the nitty-gritty.
Since last summer, developers are no longer allowed to use a government website that helps with a basic preliminary task for projects: identifying what endangered species are found in a particular area.
Unlike any other companies that must clear their permitting through federal agencies, wind and solar companies can’t rely on a Fish and Wildlife Service online map tool that can quickly determine if there is an imperiled species, migratory bird or sensitive habitat that could be harmed by a project.
Wind and solar advocates say the loss of a basic online tool is just one example in the permitting gauntlet the Trump administration set up for their projects, whether on public or private land.
Interior’s policies last year froze nearly all clean energy projects proposed for federal land that had been in the pipeline at the end of the Biden administration — although in recent months around 20 solar projects have begun to move through the process again.
In a lawsuit filed in January against the Interior Department and Army Corps of Engineers, clean energy groups say the loss of the online tool “functionally prevents” many developers from getting water-related permits and has “stalled” endangered species reviews.
A dozen projects were stopped in their tracks because of the lost access to the database, according to the lawsuit brought by groups including Renew Northeast, a nonprofit that advocates for renewable power.
“The practical implication of not having access to [the database] is delay,” said Cynthia Stroman, an attorney at the law firm King & Spalding who represents clean energy developers but is not involved in the lawsuit. While in some instances projects could hire consultants to examine endangered species that could be harmed by a project, those findings provide less liability protection than those provided by the government database, Stroman added.
An Interior spokesperson did not respond to questions about the online tool. The Fish and Wildlife Service did not respond to a request for comment.
In court filings, Trump administration lawyers have said that developers “remain fully capable of obtaining relevant species information for ESA consultation purposes from the appropriate” FWS field office, calling the database “merely a facilitative tool.”
But employees in those offices have determined they can’t work with companies unless they first obtain the approval of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum or the deputy secretary, again throwing up a roadblock, according to attorneys who work with renewable energy developers.
The Information for Planning and Consultation database maintained by FWS indexes locations across the U.S. with information about endangered species, offering developers the means to quickly decipher whether a proposed project could infringe on a protected species in its area.
Projects that aren’t likely to harm a threatened or endangered species can generate automatic records showing they are in compliance with the Endangered Species Act, allowing them to proceed with a variety of required government reviews.
But the chain of orders by Interior issued last year has imposed heightened scrutiny on renewable energy, torpedoing several new projects and otherwise freezing scores of others in various stages of the permitting process. Last July, the department ordered agencies like FWS to hold off on processing all kinds of approvals related to wind and solar project until they can obtain reviews from senior Interior officials.
Since then, a banner on the service’s website states that solar and wind projects are “currently not eligible” to use the database without those approvals. Instead, the banner specifically directs wind and solar developers to contact FWS field offices.
The prohibition has also prevented some projects from getting state-level approvals, because some state offices rely on it as well, according to the lawsuit. In a few cases, developers have responded by redesigning their projects to avoid protected areas, while others may be prevented “from proceeding at all,” the lawsuit said.
The same catch-22 applies in cases where other agencies must get in touch with FWS about a project, according to the attorneys.
Among other applications, regulators use the database to determine whether a project requires elevated levels of review with other agencies. Projects that encroach on wetlands, for instance, often require authorization from the Army Corps, which is required to first consult with FWS to ensure the project’s activities will not harm endangered species.
Construction of wind farms and solar arrays can include moving dirt into waterways during excavations, drainage into creeks or the creation of roads, culverts and electrical lines that cross streams.
For projects that aren’t likely to harm endangered species, the Army Corps would previously rely on the database before issuing a general use permit. Now, this becomes yet another step where the officials with the Army Corps must consult with FWS — and first get approval from Interior higher-ups, the lawsuit said.
The Army Corps did not respond to a request for comment.
In Illinois, a 140-megawatt project on private land called the Austin Creek Solar Project could affect wetlands and was unable to access the FWS database to determine its potential effects on wetlands, according to the lawsuit. The developers, who have already invested $2 million in their project, have as a result been unable to apply to the Army Corps for a water permit.
In Minnesota, a 151-MW wind project had similarly been unable to use the tool, preventing the developers of the Black Spruce Wind Project from finalizing any Army Corps permit application, according to the lawsuit.
Benjamin Cowan, an attorney at Troutman Pepper Locke who is representing plaintiffs in the Renew Northeast lawsuit, said the database allowed developers of many projects to essentially “self-certify” their compliance with the Endangered Species Act before being eligible for a general Army Corps permit.
“It alleviated the need to speak to the Fish and Wildlife Service as frequently,” Cowan said. “That was something that developers used on a regular basis in their planning process.”
Sean Gallagher, senior vice president of policy at the Solar Energy Industries Association, said that despite some recent movement on Interior reviewing solar farms the “vast majority” of developers are “still in the dark about whether or how their projects and permits will be considered by the Department of the Interior.”
“Developers and investors need confidence that their projects will be able to move through the permitting process in good faith and without unfair treatment based on energy source,” Gallagher said in a statement. “The reality is that  Interior could provide that clarity today by revoking their July memo.” 
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