TL/DR –
The New York attorney general has sued the Trump administration regarding its agreement with TotalEnergies, where the French company is set to receive $1 billion, effectively a refund of its leases for offshore wind projects off New York and North Carolina, if it redirects the funds towards fossil fuel projects. The New York-led lawsuit, joined by six other states, asserts that the deal will cause economic, energy grid, and climate goal damages in their states. The lawsuit alleges that the lease was cancelled without abiding by proper procedures, and the states are requesting that a federal judge overturn the cancellation and settlement agreement with TotalEnergies’ subsidiary, Attentive Energy.
New York’s AG Sues Trump Administration over TotalEnergies’ Offshore Wind Lease Cancellation
New York’s Attorney General has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for nullifying a billion-dollar offshore wind project lease of French company TotalEnergies. TotalEnergies had committed to investing in fossil fuel projects as part of the deal revealed in March.
Attorneys General from six other states joined New York to challenge this move, foreseeing a negative impact on their economies, energy grids, and climate objectives. Learn more about why the Trump administration abandoned wind farms here.
New York’s AG Letitia James criticized the administration for prioritizing a foreign energy company and oil and gas projects over offshore wind. She claims the deal risks eliminating over a thousand union jobs and denying clean, affordable energy to millions.
The governors are fighting against this perceived antagonism towards offshore wind. The filed complaint accuses administration officials, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum included, of improperly cancelling the lease. It also seeks a federal judge to nullify the lease cancellation and the settlement agreement with TotalEnergies’ subsidiary, Attentive Energy.
Notably, renewable energy groups have lodged a separate complaint about Pentagon officials failing to complete national security reviews for new onshore wind farms, thereby halting all wind project development.
Interior Department and Burgum Defend the Deal
Reacting to the lawsuit, the Interior Department blamed the Biden administration for negotiating and imposing the offshore wind leases, calling it a misuse of taxpayers’ money. All involved parties voluntarily agreed to the lease buybacks, which had the Department of Justice’s approval, stated a spokesperson.
Burgum defended the repayment to TotalEnergies, arguing the company had already invested the money in other US energy projects. Read more about a major Massachusetts offshore wind farm finished under Trump’s presidency.
TotalEnergies had bought the lease off New York and New Jersey for $795 million, planning to generate clean energy to power nearly a million homes and save ratepayers across New York $10 billion. TotalEnergies also secured a lease for its Carolina Long Bay project for about $133 million.
The Trump administration is reportedly spending nearly $2 billion to convince energy companies to abandon US offshore wind projects, after failing to halt offshore wind development through executive action. Democrats in Congress and California are investigating these agreements.
Bluepoint Wind also agreed to end its offshore wind project lease off the New Jersey and New York coasts.
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