Trump administration has spent nearly $4B to cancel offshore wind farms
TechCrunch
β’Fri, 07 Aug 2026 15:11:03 +0000
π° What Happened
The Trump administration is paying another $1.2 billion to cancel an offshore wind lease held by German utility RWE, which was set to build farms off the coasts of California, Louisiana and New York. RWE will instead spend $900 million on a stake in a Louisiana LNG export terminal and $300 million on gas turbines for 15 peaking power plants. In total, the administration has spent $3.93 billion to abandon 12 offshore wind leases.
π The Backstory
The lease cancellation is part of a broader administration push against offshore wind development, coaxing developers to abandon projects through compensation. The New York wind farm alone would have generated more than 3 gigawatts of power. RWE continues to invest in offshore wind outside the US, buying 6.9 gigawatts of capacity in a recent UK auction, highlighting that the pullback is specific to US policy rather than the industry's global direction.
π― Why It Matters
The near-$4 billion spent to cancel renewable projects shows the significant public cost of reversing offshore wind development, while redirecting funds toward gas infrastructure. It underscores the administration's energy-policy direction away from wind and toward fossil fuels, with implications for US climate commitments and the clean-energy economy. The diversion of funds into polluting peaking plants and LNG raises concerns about emissions and electricity costs.
The Trump administration is paying another $1.2 billion to cancel an offshore wind lease held by German utility RWE, which was set to build farms off the coasts of California, Louisiana and New York. RWE will instead spend $900 million on a stake in a Louisiana LNG export terminal and $300 million on gas turbines for 15 peaking power plants. In total, the administration has spent $3.93 billion to abandon 12 offshore wind leases.
The lease cancellation is part of a broader administration push against offshore wind development, coaxing developers to abandon projects through compensation. The New York wind farm alone would have generated more than 3 gigawatts of power. RWE continues to invest in offshore wind outside the US, buying 6.9 gigawatts of capacity in a recent UK auction, highlighting that the pullback is specific to US policy rather than the industry's global direction.
The near-$4 billion spent to cancel renewable projects shows the significant public cost of reversing offshore wind development, while redirecting funds toward gas infrastructure. It underscores the administration's energy-policy direction away from wind and toward fossil fuels, with implications for US climate commitments and the clean-energy economy. The diversion of funds into polluting peaking plants and LNG raises concerns about emissions and electricity costs.