Trump Administration Pays $1 Billion to French Company to Redirect Wind Farm Investment Towards Natural Gas

The Trump administration has agreed to pay $1 billion to have a French company end its investment in two wind farms and to instead redirect its capital towards natural gas, marking the federal government’s latest effort to stop the development of wind farms.

The Department of the Interior announced Monday that TotalEnergies will invest $1 billion in oil and LNG production in the U.S., the same value as its renounced wind farm leases. In return, the company will receive a reimbursement for the expenses it already paid on those leases.

“This agreement is yet another win for President Trump’s commitment to affordable and reliable energy for all Americans,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said.

“Offshore wind is one of the most expensive, unreliable, environmentally disruptive, and subsidy-dependent schemes ever forced on American ratepayers and taxpayers. We welcome TotalEnergies’ commitment to developing projects that produce dependable, affordable power to lower Americans’ monthly bills while providing secure U.S. baseload power today—and in the future.”

TotalEnergies will invest the money into a Rio Grande LNG plant and oil development in the Gulf of America. The U.S. will be terminating its wind farm leases off the coasts of New York and North Carolina. In addition, Total Energies promised not to develop any new offshore wind projects in the U.S.

“TotalEnergies is pleased to sign this settlement agreements with the DOI and to support the Administration’s Energy Policy. Considering that the development of offshore wind projects is not in the country’s interest, we have decided to renounce offshore wind development in the United States, in exchange for the reimbursement of the lease fees,” said TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné.

“These investments will contribute to supplying Europe with much-needed LNG from the U.S. and provide gas for U.S. data center development. We believe this is a more efficient use of capital in the United States,” he added.

Burgum and TotalEnergies agreed to the plan at the CERAWeek by S&P Global, an energy conference in Houston, Texas. The Trump administration has vigorously opposed offshore wind farms, especially in the northeast, because the president considers them unreliable and harmful for local wildlife.

The Trump administration’s move is a blow to New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s (D) energy strategy of combining renewable sources with natural gas. It could also interfere with permitting reform policy negotiations on Capitol Hill, because Democrats have linked those discussions to whether or not the Trump administration attacks renewable energy.

In December, the Interior Department said it was pausing all leases for large offshore wind projects currently under construction, citing national security risks identified by the Department of Defense. The Trump administration also pointed to unclassified reports showing wind farms cause “clutter” that interferes with radar detection. Judges have ruled against the Trump administration’s attempt to shut down the large scale wind projects, giving the wind energy companies temporary relief as litigation ensues.