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Utilities React to Confusing Buy America Restrictions

Client Alert | 1 min read | 07.17.13

As a result of recent changes in the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) and how those changes are being implemented by federal and state agencies, utilities are now facing expanded application of two longstanding, but different, Buy America provisions of the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration on the use of foreign iron, steel, and manufactured goods on relocation agreements with state agencies. Utility industry representatives have objected and requested that DOT clarify the requirements, establish consistent, DOT-wide Buy America provisions, and implement a transition period during which the restrictions would not apply, and CALTRANS, a California state agency, has sought a waiver for a significant project, prompting a spectrum of thoughtful comments.


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Client Alert | 4 min read | 05.01.26

Federal Court Blocks Trump Administration Policies Restricting Wind and Solar Permitting

A coalition of regional clean energy trade associations — including RENEW Northeast, Alliance for Clean Energy New York, Southern Renewable Energy Association, and Interwest Energy Alliance — along with the Green Energy Consumers Alliance (GECA), filed suit in December 2025 against the Department of the Interior (DOI), the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the Army Corps of Engineers. The complaint alleged that five agency actions, issued in response to a series of executive orders and presidential memoranda beginning on January 20, 2025, violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) by arbitrarily halting or restricting federal permitting for wind and solar energy projects. Plaintiffs sought a preliminary injunction to halt enforcement of these policies while the litigation proceeds. See Renew Northeast, et al. v. U.S. Dep’t of Interior, et al., No. 25-cv-13961-DJC,  (D. Mass. Apr. 21, 2026) ECF Dkt. 89....