Trump Pays French Company $1B to Abandon U.S. Offshore Wind Projects

The Trump administration has agreed to pay TotalEnergies $1 billion to cancel its offshore wind projects off North Carolina and New York coasts. The controversial move represents a new strategy after courts blocked the president's executive orders halting wind development.

Federal officials have struck a billion-dollar agreement with a French energy corporation to abandon offshore wind development along American coastlines, marking a new tactic in the administration’s campaign against renewable energy projects.

Interior Department officials revealed Monday that TotalEnergies has accepted what amounts to a full reimbursement for lease agreements covering wind farms planned off North Carolina and New York waters. The French company will redirect those funds toward a liquefied natural gas facility in Texas and additional fossil fuel ventures. Department leaders described the arrangement as groundbreaking, stating the “American people will no longer pay for ideological subsidies that benefited only the unreliable and costly offshore wind industry.”

This approach emerges after multiple federal courts have blocked President Donald Trump’s attempts to halt offshore wind through executive orders.

New York Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer criticized the payment to The Associated Press Tuesday, calling it something that “sets a dangerous precedent and is a shortsighted misuse of taxpayer dollars.”

Robin Shaffer, who leads the anti-offshore wind organization Protect Our Coast New Jersey, praised what he described as “out of the box” thinking. Following courtroom defeats, Shaffer argued the administration required a method to reclaim lease agreements that should never have been granted due to offshore wind’s environmental impact on marine ecosystems.

“The Trump administration has been relentlessly creative in its efforts to stop offshore wind development in the U.S.,” Shaffer stated.

Beyond his opposition to offshore wind, the Republican president has halted numerous renewable energy initiatives and eliminated billions in clean energy funding, which he dismisses as the “Green New Scam.” These actions occur as America seeks to expand power generation amid an artificial intelligence competition with China while preventing further electricity rate increases.

The ongoing Iran conflict has created significant energy market disruptions by restricting crude oil and liquefied natural gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

During his campaign, Trump promised to eliminate the offshore wind sector immediately upon taking office. He has characterized wind turbines as costly eyesores that endanger birds and marine life.

Connecticut currently receives electricity from Revolution Wind, an offshore project that state officials expect will reduce wholesale energy expenses. The National Audubon Society, focused on bird protection, maintains that climate change presents a more significant threat to avian species.

Trump’s opposition to offshore wind spans years. In 2015, he unsuccessfully fought an offshore wind installation near Aberdeen, Scotland, when Britain’s Supreme Court rejected his challenge unanimously. Trump argued the 11 turbines would ruin his golf course’s scenic views.

He advocates increased production of oil, natural gas and coal – despite their climate impact – claiming this approach would deliver the world’s cheapest energy costs to Americans.

On his first day back in office, Trump fulfilled his campaign pledge by signing an executive order temporarily suspending offshore wind lease sales in federal waters and freezing permits for all wind developments.

U.S. District Judge Patti Saris struck down Trump’s wind energy ban on December 8, ruling it illegal after 17 state attorneys general and Washington, D.C. challenged the directive. The administration is appealing this decision.

Two weeks afterward, officials ordered construction halted on five major East Coast offshore wind developments, citing national security threats. When developers and states filed lawsuits, federal judges permitted all five projects to continue, essentially finding the government failed to demonstrate immediate security risks requiring construction stoppage.

TotalEnergies wasn’t among those five companies; it had already suspended its two projects following Trump’s election victory. The corporation has now committed to avoiding any new U.S. offshore wind developments. CEO Patrick Pouyanné described the refunded lease payments as financing a Texas liquefied natural gas plant and expanded oil and gas operations, calling it “more efficient use of capital” domestically.

Ted Kelly, who directs U.S. clean energy legal efforts for the Environmental Defense Fund, characterized this as “clearly an alternative strategy to recklessly block wind power, since the Trump administration keeps losing in court.”

Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond Law School professor tracking these legal battles, called the approach “unorthodox.”

With crude oil and gasoline prices climbing, Virginia Democrats emphasized America should strengthen energy independence and stability. Virginia began receiving power Monday from an offshore wind project Trump has targeted.

“Giving an energy company $1 billion of taxpayer money to pack up its jobs and invest elsewhere — in the middle of an unpopular and unwise war that is spiking energy costs — is beyond idiotic,” Senator Tim Kaine told AP.

Maine Democratic Representative Chellie Pingree questioned whether the payment complies with appropriations law and said she would interrogate Interior Secretary Doug Burgum during upcoming budget hearings.

Dozens of commercial wind energy development leases issued by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management remain valid across U.S. waters.

Earthjustice President Abigail Dillen said she wouldn’t speculate whether the Trump administration might pay to cancel additional projects, but noted officials clearly embrace extreme tactics.

“Will they do this again? Maybe,” she concluded.