Trump administration paid French company $1 billion to halt offshore wind farm projects, blue states sue

Seven Democratic-led states have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over a March agreement that paid French energy company TotalEnergies nearly $1 billion in taxpayer money to abandon planned offshore wind projects. The coalition, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James and joined by New Jersey, Connecticut, Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, argues the deal was unlawful, stripped the states of a source of future electricity, and could increase power costs in the New England and mid-Atlantic regions.

According to the complaint filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, the administration paid TotalEnergies $928 million to cancel leases it had purchased during the Biden administration for two offshore wind farms off the coasts of New York and North Carolina. Most of the money, $795 million, was tied to the New York project. In return, TotalEnergies said it would direct the reimbursed funds toward a new liquefied natural gas plant in Texas and LNG exports to Europe.

The states argue the administration bypassed legal requirements by failing to hold a hearing to determine whether the leases would likely cause serious harm to life, property, national security or the environment before canceling them. They also say the arrangement violated the federal Judgment Fund Act because it was not a settlement of an imminent lawsuit, but instead a negotiated effort to carry out President Donald Trump’s opposition to wind energy.

James called the agreement an illegal and “sham” deal, accusing the administration of paying a foreign energy company hundreds of millions of dollars to walk away from offshore wind and invest in fossil fuels instead. Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell said the move reflected an ongoing effort to block clean energy development in favor of oil and gas interests.

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice did not immediately comment. The Interior Department defended the agreement as voluntary and said no company was forced to sign. The department also said the settlements were reviewed and approved by the Justice Department and insisted the unlawful process occurred under the Biden administration when the leases were negotiated.

The lawsuit is the latest escalation in a broader battle over offshore wind, which Trump has repeatedly opposed. His administration has already used regulatory and court challenges to stall wind projects, and the March payment signaled a new strategy: compensating developers to abandon projects before construction begins.

The attorneys general are asking the court to void the agreement and cancel the lease termination. The case is now a test of whether judges will allow the administration to use taxpayer funds to halt renewable energy projects before they are built.