The state of California is suing the Trump administration over a deal struck earlier this summer to cancel an offshore wind project in exchange for tens of millions of dollars and a promise to invest in fossil fuels.
The suit comes just a few months after the Interior Department struck an agreement with energy developer Invenergy in June to reimburse the company for what it previously paid for the offshore lease in exchange for canceling the project and increasing investments in fossil fuels.
Attorney General Rob Bonta (R) and the California Energy Commission filed the suit against the administration and Invenergy on Tuesday, labeling the deal as an “unlawful buyout.”
“At a time when we need more reliable, clean energy, President Trump is trying to send $111 million to his fossil fuel industry friends and wants taxpayers and working families to cover the tab,” Bonta said in a statement.
“This outrageous abuse of taxpayer dollars will damage the offshore wind industry and create unnecessary obstacles to clean and reliable energy powering our homes and economies,” he said.
In June, Interior announced that it struck a settlement agreement with affiliates of Invenergy to terminate four offshore wind leases in the New York Bight, the Central Coast of California, and the Gulf of Maine.
For the California project, Invenergy paid over $111 million to purchase the offshore lease in 2022, with the intention of developing up to two gigawatts of wind power capacity.
The Trump administration’s agreement, which officials have described as a settlement, involved paying the Invenergy affiliates a total of $765 million across the three regions. These funds are expected to be redirected to investments in fossil fuels, including the development of natural gas-fired power plants in Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri.
In the suit, California officials argue that the settlement description of the agreement is a “sham” to “bypass the rules that Congress set down for the offshore energy leasing program,” including stakeholder rights as well as a cap on how much the government can pay developers when canceling a lease.
They also argue that it cannot be described as a settlement, as it was not resolving an existing lawsuit.
The state claims the deal violates numerous laws, including the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the Judgment Fund Act.
“During Climate Week and all year round, we’re focused on sustainable energy, mitigating environmental impacts, and taking action when our clean energy future is attacked,” Bonta said. “California is not here to foot the bill — we have the receipts and we’re asking the court to strike down this blatantly unlawful deal.”
The June deal struck between Interior and Invenergy is just one of several made by the Trump administration this year in its broader effort to stifle wind energy development.
The administration has finalized at least five deals with various energy companies to cancel existing offshore wind leases in exchange for investments in natural gas, with the firms receiving a portion or all of what they originally paid for the leases. As of August, this has totaled nearly $4 billion.
RWE TO SCRAP THREE OFFSHORE WIND PROJECTS IN $1.22 BILLION DEAL WITH TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
The most recent agreement was made with German energy developer RWE, which agreed to cancel three offshore wind leases in the United States as part of a $1.22 billion agreement.
These “buyout” agreements have also been challenged by a coalition of seven Democrat-led states, which filed a lawsuit in June against the administration over one of the deals struck in March.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
