The Trump administration has agreed to pay $1 billion to French energy major TotalEnergies to terminate two offshore wind leases in the United States, marking a significant escalation in its push to roll back renewable energy projects in favour of fossil fuels.
According to an Associated Press report, the agreement — described by the Department of the Interior (DOI) as a “refund” — will see TotalEnergies abandon planned wind developments off the coasts of North Carolina and New York. In return, the company has committed to reinvesting the reimbursed amount into oil, natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects within the US.
The decision aligns with President Donald Trump’s broader campaign against offshore wind, a sector the administration has repeatedly criticised as expensive and unreliable. While previous efforts to halt projects were challenged in court, the current arrangement represents a voluntary withdrawal by a major global developer.
In a statement, the Interior Department called the deal an “innovative agreement” that shields taxpayers from what it termed “ideological subsidies” supporting an “unreliable” industry. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the administration welcomed TotalEnergies’ pivot toward investments that would deliver “dependable, affordable power” and strengthen US baseload energy capacity.
Under the terms of the deal, TotalEnergies will invest approximately $1 billion — equivalent to its offshore wind lease holdings — into fossil fuel projects. The US government will reimburse the company dollar-for-dollar, up to the value of those leases, once it demonstrates progress on the new investments.
The company had earlier scaled back its US offshore wind ambitions following the election. CEO Patrick Pouyanné said the decision to exit the projects was taken after concluding they were no longer aligned with national priorities. He added that the capital would be better deployed in expanding LNG infrastructure in Texas and advancing oil and gas operations.
The reimbursement covers major lease acquisitions made in 2022, including $133 million for the Carolina Long Bay site and $795 million for a large offshore area near New York and New Jersey. Together, these projects were expected to generate enough clean energy to power more than 1.3 million homes.
The administration’s move is part of a wider “all-of-the-above” energy strategy that, in practice, places renewed emphasis on fossil fuels. The White House argues this approach will reduce energy costs and meet rising demand, particularly from energy-intensive sectors such as artificial intelligence.
TotalEnergies, which continues to operate offshore wind projects in Europe and Asia, has now effectively exited the US offshore wind market — a shift that underscores changing policy priorities in Washington.
The decision has drawn criticism from state leaders. North Carolina Governor Josh Stein called the agreement “a terrible deal” for both the state and the country. “Our state has the offshore wind potential to power millions of homes with renewable American-made energy. It’s wasteful that taxpayer money is being used to pay a company to abandon private investment in clean energy,” he said.
