By Frank Brill, EnviroPolitics Editor
The Trump administration’s escalating campaign to dismantle offshore wind development hit another major milestone this week — and encountered a significant legal setback — as one of the world’s largest renewable energy companies agreed to abandon its U.S. offshore wind leases in exchange for a massive payout.
RWE Accepts $1.22 Billion to Exit U.S. Offshore Wind
German energy giant RWE, one of the largest offshore wind developers globally, announced it will relinquish its rights to build wind farms off the coasts of California, New York, and Louisiana. The company will receive $1.22 billion under a settlement with the Trump administration, despite having already invested more than $1 billion in U.S. offshore wind planning and development.
The deal is part of a broader pattern: the administration has been paying companies to surrender offshore wind leases, effectively unwinding years of federal planning and billions in private investment. Several firms have already accepted similar agreements.
RWE says it will redirect its U.S. energy investments toward natural gas, including:
$900 million for a 16% stake in a Louisiana LNG project
$300 million for gas turbine‑related deals
Critics, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, blasted the arrangement as “corruption at your expense,” arguing it will raise utility bills and shrink domestic clean‑energy supply. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum countered that the deal uses no taxpayer money, claiming it simply repurposes RWE’s own investments and supports “affordable, reliable, secure American energy.”
Federal Court Orders Pentagon to Resume Wind Project Reviews
In a major legal rebuke, a federal judge ordered the Pentagon to lift its freeze on reviewing offshore wind projects for national security concerns. According to The Washington Post, the Defense Department had stopped processing required reviews in May, despite a law mandating completion within 75 days.
Judge Karin J. Immergut granted a preliminary injunction sought by renewable‑energy groups, ruling that the freeze violated federal law and could not continue while litigation proceeds.
The decision restores a critical permitting pathway that the administration had used to stall offshore wind development. It also signals that courts may be increasingly skeptical of efforts to block or unwind previously approved renewable‑energy projects.