The Trump administration announced Monday it will pay French energy firm TotalEnergies $928 million to cancel offshore wind farm leases off the New York and North Carolina coasts.
TotalEnergies will reinvest the reimbursement into oil and gas projects, including a liquefied natural gas export facility in Texas.
The canceled projects would have powered over 1 million homes.
Trump has repeatedly vowed to block offshore wind development despite East Coast states’ reliance on such projects for future energy needs. The administration previously invoked national security concerns to halt five under-construction wind farms, though courts ruled those projects could proceed.
The administration claims the projects are “unreliable and costly,” but New York Gov. Kathy Hochul condemned the deal as “pay-not-to-play scheme” abusing taxpayer dollars.
Environmental Defense Fund director Ted Kelly called it “outrageous misuse of taxpayer dollars,” noting the timing coincides with market chaos from Trump’s Iran war.
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