Trump Spends $765M to Kill Offshore Wind Projects 

From Blue Green Alliance

The U.S. Department of the Interior has agreed to pay $765 million to the energy developer Invenergy to cancel four offshore wind project leases, an amount equal to what Invenergy originally paid the federal government for them. 

Under this deal, the cancellation would be purchased through the Judgment Fund, a reserve of taxpayer dollars overseen by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Treasury Department. This brings the total amount the Trump administration has agreed to pay to cancel offshore wind leases to more than $2.5 billion to date. 

BlueGreen Alliance Vice President of Federal Affairs Katie Harris responded: “For a president who prides himself on being a titan for the working class, Trump is willing to spend billions of our taxpayer dollars to cancel projects that could be bringing new jobs, a cleaner environment, and lower utility bills up and down our coasts. The administration continues to waste time and taxpayers’ money on an irrational vendetta against clean energy.” 

LOOMING LAWSUIT  

Meanwhile, in California, Attorney General Rob Bonta said California plans to sue the Trump administration over the deal it reached this spring to wipe out a floating wind project off the state’s Central Coast. Bonta argued in a recent filing that the Interior Department deal to cancel Golden State Wind would undermine California’s clean energy and climate goals. The project was expected to provide electricity to about 1.1 million homes.  

The deal is part of the Trump administration’s strategy to hobble offshore wind after federal judges reversed stop work orders aimed at halting a series of other projects that were already under construction.