Interior Department

Trump Administration to Pay French Company $1B to Walk Away from U.S. Wind Energy

The Trump administration has tried to halt offshore wind construction, but federal judges overturned those orders.

Associated Press

Mar 25, 2026 — 3 min read

Photo of a sign for the French company TotalEnergies in March 2025, by Thomas Padilla/AP

PROVIDENCE, R.I., March 25, 2026 (AP) — The Trump administration will pay $1 billion to a French company to walk away from two U.S. offshore wind leases as the administration ramps up its campaign against offshore wind and other renewable energy.

TotalEnergies has agreed to what's essentially a refund of its leases for projects off the coasts of North Carolina and New York, and will invest the money in fossil fuel projects instead, the Department of Interior announced Monday.

President Donald Trump's administration has tried to halt offshore wind construction, but federal judges repeatedly overturned those orders.

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Interior Department Energy Donald Trump TotalEnergies Lena Moffitt Patrick Pouyanné Doug Burgum Kathy Hochul Josh Stein China Dominion Energy Ted Kelly environmental defense fund American Energy

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