The memorandum cited directives and orders Trump had signed aimed at blocking offshore wind development and directing the Interior Department to eliminate “preferences” for “expensive and unreliable energy sources like wind and solar.”

The plaintiffs argued the policy created a bottleneck that ground permitting to a halt and was adopted without any explanation for why it was needed, in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.

Casper, who was appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama, agreed, saying none of the directives the department cited explained or justified the three-tiered review process.

She also blocked policies the plaintiffs said disfavour energy projects that are “capacity dense,” as wind and solar ones would be deemed, and the Interior Department’s adoption of an interpretation of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act that imposes stricter standards for offshore wind projects.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi, David Gaffen, Bill Berkrot, Baird Maritime)