Trump Wants To Pay a Company Almost $1 Billion To Cancel Its Wind Projects in New York and North Carolina

As Americans struggle with rising gas prices and high electricity rates, the Trump administration is reportedly trying to pay companies not to add power to the grid.

On Tuesday, The New York Times reported that "senior administration officials" were preparing settlement agreements with French energy developer TotalEnergies to terminate the firm's offshore wind energy projects in New York and North Carolina. Both projects are set to come online in the early 2030s. In exchange for the Interior Department canceling these leases (which are in federal waters), the Justice Department "would then pay more than $928 million" to the company as a reimbursement "for its winning bids in lease sales during the Biden administration," reports the Times' Maxine Joselow. 

The deal would not end there. TotalEnergies would also have to agree to fund "accelerated investments" in natural gas projects in Texas, according to proposed settlements reviewed by the Times. If the company refuses the offer, the administration may still ax the leases, setting off a lengthy and costly legal battle.

Representatives from the company or the Trump administration have not confirmed the Times' reporting. However, if these agreements are true, it would be one of the most direct attacks the administration has waged on offshore wind, which is saying something. 

On Day 1, President Donald Trump issued an executive order that paused new offshore wind projects and directed federal agencies to reevaluate how they approve these projects. Agencies used the order to pull permits and issue work stoppages on previously approved projects. Courts overturned most of the administration's moves, and in December, a federal judge vacated the executive order after it was challenged by 17 states and the District of Columbia. 

Despite these court losses, the administration has found creative ways to discourage wind energy. In August, the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum directed his agency to scrutinize wind and solar energy permits, unless the projects produced as much energy per acre as fossil fuels or nuclear power.

In December, the same agency halted a wind farm off the coast of New York state by citing a Defense Department report, which called the energy source a threat to national security. A judge struck down the work stoppage in February. "The administration is now 0-5 in its effort to stop wind farms under construction along the East Coast," Joselow wrote at the time. 

As Reason has reported, Trump is not the first president to so blatantly put his thumb on the energy scale. Barack Obama nixed major oil projects while sending federal money to green energy ventures, and Joe Biden started and ended his presidency by halting oil drilling on federal lands. 

However, given the rise in electricity prices and the need to increase energy production to satisfy AI demands and stave off the most severe impacts from the war in Iran, it's a wonder why Trump is deciding that now is the right time to shake investor confidence and mandate that companies invest in fossil fuel projects—which take several years longer to bring online than renewables. 

Still, we shouldn't be surprised that Trump is turning to such drastic measures to dissuade wind energy. After all, he's poured millions of dollars into propping up failing coal plants and nationalizing some nuclear energy production. And just as these moves have backfired on the president, taxpayers, and ratepayers, Trump's latest endeavor is likely to do the same. 

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