A coalition of seven* state Attorneys General, led by New York AG Letitia James announced that they have launched a lawsuit against the Trump administration in a federal court, over a deal signed by the government with French energy giant TotalEnergies to stop the development of new offshore wind projects in the U.S., in exchange for reimbursement of nearly $1 billion in lease fees.
Under the deal, described by James as “blatantly unlawful,” TotalEnergies is expected to redirect the reimbursed funds into U.S. gas and power projects, with the administration also saying that the company also pledged not to develop any new offshore wind projects in the U.S.
The agreement with TotalEnergies formed part of a series of moves by the Trump administration to stop the development of renewable energy projects. The initiative started with a Presidential Memorandum signed by Trump on his first day in office, indefinitely halting all federal approvals for wind energy projects, and more recently pausing the leases for all large-scale offshore wind projects under construction in the U.S. on national security grounds, effectively freezing nearly 6 GW of energy that was set to enter commercial operation over the next 2 years.
Most of the administration’s attempts to date have not fully succeeded, with a federal court striking down Trump’s initial halt on wind energy approvals, and each of the projects targeted by the lease pause move issued preliminary injunctions against the order.
James said:
“After repeatedly losing in court, this administration cooked up a sham deal to pay a foreign energy company hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to abandon offshore wind and invest in oil and gas instead.”
The new lawsuit argues that the deal is “arbitrary and capricious,” with the administration failing to provide a reason for the cancellation of the lease, explain its change in position, or address alternative means for the states to achieve their energy and climate goals, and that it violated several laws including the National Environmental Policy Act by failing to consider the impacts and alternatives to the agreement, as well as the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), which requires a hearing before cancelling leases and notification and coordination with the states.
The suit also claims that the deal constitutes a “sham settlement” designed to “redirect the money paid for the lease to a separate, unauthorized use favored by the President.”
The suit asks the court strike down the agreement, and to vacate the lease cancellation.
In a statement announcing the launch of the lawsuit, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said:
“This pay-not-to-play scheme pressuring a foreign company to forego planned offshore wind projects in America in favor of gas and oil drilling is an outrageous abuse of taxpayer dollars that hurts our ability to meet our energy needs, create good jobs, and help secure American energy independence while reducing emissions.”
States participating in the suit include Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
