The Trump administration has spent nearly $2 billion in taxpayer money to terminate offshore wind projects that were already under construction, according to lease buyout agreements revealed this week.
The three deals, announced between March and this week, require energy companies to abandon wind farm development off the coasts of North Carolina, New York, and California—and reinvest the federal payout into fossil fuel projects instead.
Congressional Democrats are demanding answers about what Rep. Jared Huffman of California, ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee, called a "scam" that would "light a lot of federal taxpayer money on fire."
The largest agreement, worth $1 billion, was announced in March with TotalEnergies to cancel projects off North Carolina and New York. This week, the administration revealed nearly $900 million in additional buyouts with Bluepoint Wind and Golden State Wind, both co-owned by Ocean Winds, a joint venture of EDP Renewables and French energy company Engie.
All three agreements contain an unusual provision: the companies must invest an equal amount in fossil fuel development to receive the taxpayer-funded buyout.
"These projects would have powered millions of American homes and created thousands of good-paying union jobs," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat and Senate Majority Leader. "Instead, we're paying companies billions to walk away and drill for oil."
The canceled projects were in active construction phases, not merely proposed. Wind turbine foundations had been ordered, underwater cables contracted, and union workers hired for installation work scheduled to begin this year.
Ocean Winds now retains just one remaining U.S. project— off —though according to industry sources, development has slowed significantly under the current administration's energy policies.
