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Solar Companies Call on Congress to Revoke DOI Memo Quashing Energy Permitting by Kim Riley Daily Energy Insider, December 8, 2025

A "massive chilling effect" on solar and renewable energy projects,
Agencies are just not answering the phone. They're not processing permits,"

A memo issued earlier this year by the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) creates burdensome red tape, effectively halting permitting for solar energy projects and sets policy that will significantly delay or cancel deployment of much-needed solar energy, according to 143 solar energy companies from across the nation.

"We urge Congress to work with the Department of the Interior to address the unduly discriminatory and unprecedented government overreach, by revoking the July 15th memo," wrote the companies in a Dec. 4 letter sent to congressional leadership.

Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) President and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper pointed out that for America's solar industry, permitting reform starts with permit certainty.

"As 143 solar companies wrote in their letter to our congressional leaders, without action to address this unequal treatment of solar energy, the industry will continue to face significant barriers to deployment and investment at a time of skyrocketing energy demand," Hopper said, calling the memo an "ongoing permitting moratorium."

According to their letter, the solar companies agree, arguing that while the DOI's July 15 memo appears to require elevated review for solar energy permits, federal agencies are actually implementing the directive in a way that amounts to a nearly complete moratorium on permitting.

And this is "for any project in which the DOI may play a role, on both federal and private land, no matter how minor," they wrote.

Examples include permits and consultations that occur under any DOI agency for projects on federal lands or any other project with a clear federal nexus; those for projects primarily on private lands that involve easements, rights-of-way, or gen-ties ("generation tie-lines")crossing public land; and those on private lands that occur under DOI agencies, including those requiring compliance with the Endangered Species Act, the Migratory Bird Act, and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, according to the letter.

Other examples include permits from non-DOI federal agencies, such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, for private land projects where the DOI has a consultative role, such as wetland impacts, water crossings, or tree removal; and projects on private land utilizing DOI resources, such as IPaC, to determine species impacts, the letter says.

In fact, SEIA released an analysis of EIA data last month showing that more than 500 projects in the pipeline across the country are in danger of delays or cancellation as a result of political attacks.

"To be clear, there is no question we need permitting reform," SEIA's Hopper said. "There is an agreement to be reached, and SEIA and our 1,200 member companies will continue our months-long effort to advocate for a deal that ensures equal treatment of all energy sources, because the current status of this blockade is unsustainable."

The companies suggested in their letter that "there are reasonable steps" the DOI could take in the short-term to prevent unnecessary delays in energy development that's currently poised to help meet the growing energy demands of AI and other industries.

"Businesses need certainty in order to continue making investments in the United States to build out much-needed energy projects," they wrote. "Certainty must include a review process that does not discriminate by energy source. We urge Congress to keep fairness and certainty at the center of permitting negotiations."