Trump team considers $1bn pay-out to scrap offshore wind farms

Officials in the administration of Donald Trump are weighing a controversial plan to pay nearly $1bn to cancel major offshore wind projects after repeated courtroom losses blocked efforts to halt construction.

According to documents reviewed by The New York Times, the U.S. Department of Justice is drafting settlement agreements that would pay more than $928m to French energy giant TotalEnergies to abandon two large wind developments along the US East Coast.

The proposed deal would terminate the Attentive Energy wind farm off New York and the Carolina Long Bay project near North Carolina. In return for the payout — effectively reimbursing leases awarded during the administration of Joe Biden — TotalEnergies would abandon the projects and accelerate investments in natural gas infrastructure in Texas.

Legal experts say such a direct buyout would be highly unusual. Former Interior Department counsel John Leshy said the move appeared driven largely by the president’s hostility toward offshore wind.

Courts block White House crackdown

The payout strategy follows a string of defeats in federal court.

Last December the U.S. Department of the Interior ordered construction halted on five offshore wind projects, citing a classified national security assessment from the U.S. Department of Defense. Judges repeatedly rejected the claims, ruling the administration had failed to demonstrate an immediate security risk.

Despite the attempted crackdown, two projects advanced this week. Vineyard Wind, located south of Martha’s Vineyard, completed installation of its 62 turbines, while Revolution Wind began delivering electricity to the New England grid.

Energy policy clash intensifies

The potential settlements highlight the administration’s broader push to dismantle Biden-era renewable energy policies.

Trump has repeatedly attacked wind power, claiming turbines harm marine life and calling them inefficient. The White House says the strategy is part of a wider effort to respond to a declared “national energy emergency” and boost fossil fuel production.

If the deals proceed, the $795m cancellation of Attentive Energy alone would halt a project designed to power more than one million homes — intensifying the political fight over America’s energy future.

Trump team weighs paying $1B to stop wind farm projects