French Energy Giant Abandons $1B Wind Project for Oil and Gas Investment

TotalEnergies and the U.S. government announced a major shift away from offshore wind development, redirecting nearly $1 billion toward oil and natural gas projects. The French energy company will abandon wind lease areas off the Carolinas and New York in favor of investing in Texas LNG facilities and Gulf oil production.

A major French energy company has struck a deal with the United States to abandon offshore wind development and pour nearly $1 billion into oil and natural gas projects instead.

TotalEnergies announced Monday it will walk away from offshore wind leases and commit those funds to fossil fuel production, marking another setback for America’s struggling offshore wind sector under President Donald Trump’s administration.

The Trump administration, which has criticized wind turbines as unsightly, expensive and ineffective, continues pushing policies that favor increased domestic fossil fuel extraction.

Under the agreement, the U.S. Department of the Interior will refund approximately $1 billion that TotalEnergies previously spent on offshore wind lease purchases, according to a federal statement. In exchange, the French company has committed to avoiding any future offshore wind development projects in American waters.

TotalEnergies plans to put $928 million toward expanding the Rio Grande LNG facility in Texas in 2026, while also funding conventional oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and shale gas extraction operations, the Interior Department announced.

Once these fossil fuel investments are completed, federal officials will cancel TotalEnergies’ wind leases in the Carolina Long Bay region and New York Bight area, both of which were secured in 2022, and provide the promised reimbursement.

TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne stated that offshore wind development does not represent the most cost-effective method for generating electricity in the United States.

The announcement came during the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston, where Pouyanne joined U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to reveal the arrangement.