WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration announced two more payments Monday to energy companies to walk away from U.S. offshore wind projects under development.
BluePoint Wind and Golden State Wind have agreed to terminate their offshore wind leases in exchange for approximately $900 million in reimbursements. Both companies are not pursuing any new offshore wind projects in the United States, the Interior Department announced Monday.
Bluepoint Wind is an offshore wind project in early stages of development off the coast of New Jersey and New York, while Golden State Wind is a proposed floating offshore wind project off California’s central coast.
Interior said it is following the model of a recent deal with French energy company Total Energy, which is receiving a $1 billion payment to walk away from projects off the coast of North Carolina and New York. TotalEnergies agreed in March to essentially surrender its lease, and instead invest the money in fossil fuel projects.
The deals came after the administration’s efforts to block offshore wind were thwarted by the courts. A federal judge struck down Trump’s executive order blocking wind energy projects in December, declaring it illegal. He joined 17 states and state attorneys general in Washington, D.C., who challenged the order.
Two weeks later, the administration ordered a halt to construction on five major East Coast offshore wind projects, citing national security concerns. Developers and states sued, and federal judges allowed construction to resume on all five, essentially concluding that the government faced a national security risk so imminent that construction must stop.
Environmental groups and Democrats have questioned the legality of the TotalEnergies deal, saying it could be harmful to the US economy and environment. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., criticized the administration for blocking BluePoint Wind, calling it a “reckless decision that will hurt working families and the economy” and is likely to raise electricity prices in New York.
“Once again, Donald Trump is attacking New York’s offshore wind at the behest of his fossil fuel donors without justification,” he said in a statement Monday.
Bluepoint and Golden State are both co-owned by Ocean Winds, a joint venture between EDP Renewable Energy and French energy giant Engie. BluePoint’s lease costs $765 million, while Golden State Wind will be eligible to recover about $120 million in lease fees, Insider said.
Interior Secretary Doug Bergum said the companies sold a product that was only supported by large taxpayer subsidies when they bid for these offshore wind leases in 2022 under former President Joe Biden.
