President Trump Signs Energy Executive Orders on Day One of Administration

On January 20, 2025, newly sworn-in President Donald Trump signed several executive orders related to energy policy. In the most comprehensive order, the administration declared a national energy emergency, the purpose of which is to increase leasing, development, production, transportation, refining, and generation of energy in order to meet the nation’s needs. Under the order, federal agencies are granted emergency authority to develop domestic energy resources, including but not limited to those resources on federal lands. The order also directs federal agencies to expedite all authorized energy infrastructure projects, and requires federal agencies to identify projects that may need emergency permits under the Clean Water Act or the Endangered Species Act. 

The next order, Unleashing American Energy, sets forth the policy of the new administration with respect to domestic energy. These policies include encouraging energy production on federal lands and waters, the production of rare earth minerals, elimination of electric vehicle mandates, and ensuring that all regulations related to energy are grounded in clear applicable law. The order also requires federal agencies to review all actions that could potentially burden the identification and development of domestic resources and announces the revocation of several executive orders issued by the Biden administration, including several related to climate change and sustainability. 

Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential states that it is the policy of the new administration to fully avail itself of Alaska’s vast resources, including those on federal and state lands, and to prioritize the development of Alaska’s liquid natural gas. The order directs various federal agencies to rescind or withdraw numerous decisions, orders, and moratoriums that limit the production of natural resources in Alaska. 

Finally, the administration ordered the withdrawal of all areas within the Offshore Continental Shelf from disposition for wind energy leasing. The order does not apply to existing wind leases or to leases for other purposes, such as oil and gas and environmental conservation. The order calls for a temporary cessation of all wind leasing while federal agencies conduct an assessment of the environmental impacts of onshore and offshore wind projects.

If you have any questions about this executive order, or how it might affect you, please contact Steptoe & Johnson’s Energy Team or the author of this alert.