From day 1 of his second term President Trump has clearly indicated there will be a policy shift away from renewable energy and instead focus on oil and natural gas production. This has specifically included offshore wind projects, many of which began during former President Joe Biden’s term. To further this broad policy shift, the Trump Administration has taken actions to slow or stall development and operation of the offshore wind projects.
On Monday, April 27th, two more payouts for energy companies were announced in exchange for walking away from U.S. offshore wind projects under development. Bluepoint Wind and Golden State Wind have agreed to end their offshore wind leases in exchange for reimbursements from the government totaling nearly $900 million. Bluepoint Wind was located off the coasts of New Jersey and New York and was in the early stages of development. Golden State Wind was a proposed project off the central coast of California. The California Energy Commission has now issued an administrative subpoena directed towards Golden Wind seeking details on the company’s deal with the Trump administration. In the past month TotalEnergies also reached a deal with the U.S. government to cancel projects off the coasts of North Carolina and New York in exchange for a $1 billion payout. Many of the companies, including TotalEnergies, who received money from the U.S. government have instead put the money towards natural gas projects either on their own or, perhaps, as has been suggested at the behest of the Trump administration as part of the buyout/settlement. The Department of the Interior (“DOI”) issued a Press Release in which they announced, “a landmark agreement with TotalEnergies for the company to redirect capital from expensive, unreliable offshore wind leases towards affordable, reliable natural gas projects….” TotalEnergies has committed to invest the total value of its renounced offshore wind leases (approximately $1 billion) in oil, natural gas, and liquified natural gas (“LNG”) production instead.
Prior to reaching deals with each company, the administration attempted to block the offshore wind projects through an Executive Order issued on December 22, 2025, which paused leasing and permitting for wind energy projects. However, a federal judge vacated the Executive Order, declaring it unlawful as violating U.S. law. Two weeks after the judicial decision, the administration ordered construction to stop for five major East Coast offshore wind projects (Sunrise Wind, Vineyard Wind, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, South Fork Wind, and Revolution Wind), citing national security concerns. The DOI cited to radar interference called “clutter” as the national security concern, stating that clutter occurs from the movement of turbine blades and the reflective towers in offshore wind projects. The DOI claimed that clutter caused by the offshore wind projects obscured legitimate moving targets and generates false targets in the vicinity of the offshore wind projects. The project developers and States sued, in order to protect their energy and economic interests. States such as Connecticut and Rhode Island are relying on the completion of offshore wind projects to meet their electricity needs and renewable energy goals. Federal judges allowed all five projects to resume construction, finding that the government failed to show the national security risk was so imminent that construction must halt. See Sunrise Wind LLC v. Burgum et al., No. 1:26-cv-00028, (D.D.C. Feb. 2, 2026); Revolution Wind, LLC v. Burgum et al., No. 1:25-cv-02999, (D.D.C. Jan. 12, 2026); Empire Leaseholder LLC v. Burgum et al., No. 1:26-cv-0004, (D.D.C. Jan. 8, 2026); Virginia Electric and Power Company v. U.S. Dep't of Interior, et al., No. 2:25-cv-00830, (E.D. Va. Jan. 16, 2026); Vineyard Wind 1 LLC v. U.S. Dep't of Interior, et al., No. 1:26-cv-10156, (D. Mass. Jan. 27, 2026). Currently, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, Vineyard Wind, South Fork Wind, and Revolution Wind are all operational and produce energy.
For more information regarding renewable energy project guidance and federal energy directives please contact Jeffrey Genzer and Keith Gordon.
