The Trump administration has finalized a massive deal with French energy conglomerate TotalEnergies to abandon offshore wind projects along the U.S. Atlantic coast and instead pour nearly $1 billion into American fossil fuel production.
According to the Department of the Interior, TotalEnergies agreed to walk away from costly offshore wind leases and reinvest that capital into U.S.-based oil, natural gas, and LNG development.
In return, the federal government will reimburse the company up to roughly $928 million, the value of the leases originally purchased under the Biden regime.
According to NBC, offshore wind turbines dwarf their land-based counterparts. To put that scale into perspective, here’s how one of the largest models available—General Electric’s 12 MW Haliade-X—stacks up against several well-known structures.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum framed the agreement as a decisive victory for American energy independence, declaring that offshore wind had become a “subsidy-driven scheme” that burdened taxpayers while delivering inconsistent power.
Instead, the administration is steering investment toward “reliable and secure” domestic energy production, including liquefied natural gas facilities and expanded drilling operations.
TotalEnergies itself confirmed it will redirect the funds into U.S. oil and gas projects and has pledged not to pursue any new offshore wind developments in America moving forward.
The deal effectively kills two major planned wind projects off the coasts of New York and North Carolina, projects that were still in development but represented part of the broader push for renewable energy expansion.
Read the press release below:
“The Department of the Interior announced a landmark agreement with TotalEnergies for the company to redirect capital from expensive, unreliable offshore wind leases toward affordable, reliable natural gas projects that will provide secure energy for hardworking Americans.
TotalEnergies has committed to invest approximately $1 billion—the value of its renounced offshore wind leases—in oil and natural gas and LNG production in the United States. Following their new investment, the United States will reimburse the company dollar-for-dollar, up to the amount they paid in lease purchases for offshore wind. Under this innovative agreement driven by President Donald J. Trump’s Energy Dominance Agenda, the American people will no longer pay for ideological subsidies that benefited only the unreliable and costly offshore wind industry.
Additionally, in light of the national security concerns, TotalEnergies has pledged not to develop any new offshore wind projects in the United States.
“This agreement is yet another win for President Trump’s commitment to affordable and reliable energy for all Americans,” said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. “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.”
“Today’s agreement prioritizes affordability for hardworking American consumers over the prior administration’s ideological, ineffective energy policies,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Americans will benefit from this significant investment in our energy industry, which will also enhance our national security and grid reliability.”
“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 Furthermore, these agreements, under which we will reinvest the refunded lease fees to finance the construction of the 29 Mt Rio Grande LNG plant and the development of our oil and gas activities, allows us to support the development of U.S. gas production and export. 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,” said Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of TotalEnergies.
For its part, TotalEnergies will invest $928MM, on the following projects in 2026:
- The development of Train 1 to 4 of Rio Grande LNG plant in Texas;
- The development of upstream conventional oil in Gulf of America and of shale gas production.
Following TotalEnergies’ $928 million in investments in affordable, reliable and secure U.S. energy projects, the United States will terminate the following leases and reimburse the company:
- Lease No. OCS-A 0535. The lease is located in Carolina Long Bay area. This lease was fully executed by TotalEnergies Renewables USA, LLC on June 1, 2022, after payment of $133,333,333.
- Lease No. OCS-A 0538. The lease is located in the New York Bight area. The lease was fully executed by Attentive Energy, LLC on May 1, 2022, after payment of $795,000,000.
These reinvestments by TotalEnergies will directly advance the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to lower costs for American families, increase baseload and grid reliability and help maintain global leadership in artificial intelligence.”
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