{"id":677156,"date":"2026-03-24T00:41:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T00:41:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/677156\/"},"modified":"2026-03-24T00:41:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T00:41:14","slug":"trump-administration-to-pay-energy-firm-1-billion-to-stop-east-coast-wind-farms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/677156\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump administration to pay energy firm $1 billion to stop East Coast wind farms"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Trump administration announced Monday that it will pay a French energy company $1 billion to forfeit its plans to build two offshore wind farms off the East Coast, syphoning the investment into fossil fuel projects.<\/p>\n

The deal will reimburse the company, TotalEnergies, nearly $928 million for its leases to build the wind farms off New York and North Carolina. TotalEnergies will then invest the money in a liquefied natural gas facility in Texas, oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and shale gas production, according to a news release<\/a> from the Interior Department.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The agreement falls in line with President Donald Trump\u2019s energy agenda<\/a>, which prioritizes the burning of fossil fuels to generate electricity over clean, renewable energy projects. It\u2019s also a personal move for the president, who has been an enemy of offshore wind projects since he lost his bid to stop one that was visible from one of his Scotland golf courses in 2015.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced the settlement during an energy conference in Houston, saying the administration is \u201callowing\u201d TotalEnergies to \u201credirect those dollars that have been paid into the Treasury to affordable, reliable and secure oil and natural gas production in the U.S.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The leases were granted under the Biden administration.<\/p>\n

The Interior Department and the Justice Department did not return MS NOW\u2019s request for comment on the deal or how the payment to TotalEnergies will be financed.<\/p>\n

\u201cConsidering that the development of offshore wind projects is not in the country\u2019s interest, we have decided to renounce offshore wind development in the United States, in exchange for the reimbursement of the lease fees,\u201d Patrick Pouyann\u00e9, chief executive of TotalEnergies, said in a news release<\/a> Monday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\tRecommended<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSydney Carruth<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSydney Carruth is a breaking news reporter covering national politics and policy for MS NOW. You can send her tips from a non-work device on Signal at SydneyCarruth.46 or follow her work on X and Bluesky.\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\"MS<\/p>\n

\u00a9\u00a02026 Versant Media, LLC<\/p>\n

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