ICYMI: Congresswoman Lee Grills Trump Interior Secretary on Attempt to Kill Solar in Nevada

 

Image

Download Full Video 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last week, Congresswoman Susie Lee (NV-03) pressed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on the Trump Administration’s weaponization of the permitting process to crush solar in Nevada, despite analysis from Lazard, the world’s largest independent investment bank, which found solar and wind to be the “clear cheapest choice” when deciding which new power sources to build. 

• During Wednesday’s hearing, Representative Susie Lee of Nevada told Burgum that his policies have “created a total permitting mess” in her sunny home state, and asked him what the immediate impact of the court’s order was within his agency.  

• When Burgum responded by denigrating the judge’s decision, Lee asked if he was planning to appeal the order.  

• “Yeah, absolutely,” he said, asserting that “the idea that a single judge could decide” how the agency conducts permitting “is absurd.”  

• At the end of her questioning, Lee reaffirmed that the July 15 memo was the single thing stalling a permitting reform deal in Congress.  

• “If you would just rescind that memo, we could get permitting reform passed this Congress, and we can start to talk about permitting all forms of energy.” 

• The administration has also sought to stop offshore wind projects under construction.  

• Some solar projects in recent months have begun to move through Interior's pipeline — in some cases after prodding from Republican supporters of renewable energy.  

• Facing questioning from Rep. Susie Lee (D-Nev.), Burgum declined to say whether he personally took a call from the president last year urging him to allow solar projects to move forward in Nevada, as Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) said in a recent Podcast.  

• “We're following the law required for permitting,” Burgum said.  

• Another point of contention at the hearing was the Interior Department’s policy adding new checks for wind- and solar-permitting approval, including a review by Burgum’s own office.  

• A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction on the policy last month after wind and solar developers said in a lawsuit that the policy was intended to shut down their projects. 

• The idea that a single judge could dictate internal Interior Department permitting processes “is absurd,” Burgum said. 

• Rep. Susie Lee (D., Nev.) said the Interior Department’s actions have “created a total permitting mess” in her state.  

• Lee said that while Nevada uses more solar than any other state in the country, new solar projects are stalling under the Trump administration. 

• Burgum said that the intermittent nature of sunshine makes relying on it for energy too uncertain. He also said he worries that solar equipment coming from China could put the U.S. grid at risk. 

• “When the sun goes down, they produce zero electricity,” he said.  

• Advancements have been made in battery-storage capacity for solar power, but Republicans and Democrats tussled over the capabilities of such storage at the hearing, with Republicans arguing that battery-storage potential isn’t substantial enough.  

• A post on the U.S. Department of Energy’s website says that battery storage “helps solar contribute to the electricity supply even when the sun isn’t shining.” 

• Burgum testified before the House Natural Resources Committee to discuss President Donald Trump’s proposed 2027 budget for the Department of the Interior.  

• During this hearing, Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV) pointed out how widely used solar energy was and asked Burgum to ensure development in that field continued.  

• “The idea that a single judge could decide what the process that we’re supposed to go through internally to make sure that we’re complying with the law through a complex permitting process is absurd,” Burgum said in response to questions from Rep. Susie Lee (D-N.V.).  

• Lee said as much on Wednesday, stating that DOI’s enforcement of that July memo is standing in the way of broader permitting reform in Congress.  

• “If you would just rescind that memo, we could get permitting reform passed this Congress, and we can start to talk about permitting all forms of energy,” Lee said to Burgum in the hearing.  

• Lee added that DOI’s actions — including a July 15 memo mandating a new three-tiered political review for all wind and solar permits, ending with Burgum’s office — have stalled 93% of all new energy capacity in Nevada.  

• Burgum didn’t confirm or deny a conversation with Trump in response to questions from Lee.  

• In April, a federal judge in Massachusetts issued a preliminary injunction in favor of a group of clean energy advocacy and trade groups that claimed the administration had unlawfully implemented policies preventing the development of renewable energy resources.  

• Burgum was pressed on whether the agency would abide by the court’s injunction during Wednesday’s hearing, and did not directly answer whether he would.  

• “I mean, we have three separate equal branches of government that each have their own responsibilities, and ours is to execute on the permitting responsibilities that we have,” Burgum said.  

• Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV) pushed back against the directive, telling Burgum that there have been “zero permits” issued for wind and solar power projects in her state of Nevada over the last year, despite support from state leadership. 

• She asked the secretary to abide by the injunction and begin approving permits for new renewable energy projects to support the U.S.’s efforts to get ahead in the artificial intelligence arms race. 

• Does US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum know how solar power works? Doug Burgum, the Trump administration’s secretary of the interior, drew mocking comments during a congressional hearing, when he said that solar power doesn’t work at night.  

• Burgum: When the sun goes down, solar panels produce zero electricity. The whole machine doesn’t work. 

• @rephuffman: I request to enter into the record this amazing new technology that apparently the Secretary is unaware of. It’s a battery. 😂 

• Secretary Doug Burgum really believes solar energy 'doesn't work when the sun goes down.' 

• While testifying before the House today, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said solar energy “doesn’t work when the sun goes down.” 

###