Trump admin to pay $1B to French firm to end offshore US wind farms, switch to oil, gas production
TotalEnergies will shift $928 million in "expensive, unreliable, environmentally disruptive, and subsidy-dependent" offshore wind investment to LNG infrastructure and oil and gas production.
The Interior Department says it will pay $1 billion to the French energy-and-petroleum company TotalEnergies to shift its investments in offshore wind to oil and gas infrastructure.
The department said Monday the company, TotalEnergies SE, will invest $928 million in the development of infrastructure to liquify natural gas for export. Additionally, the company will invest in the development of offshore oil and shale gas production.
In exchange for the investments, the federal government will terminate offshore wind leases off the coasts of North Carolina and New York and reimburse the company for the loss of those leases, which are worth approximately $928.3 million.
“This agreement is yet another win for President Trump’s commitment to affordable and reliable energy for all Americans. Offshore wind is one of the most expensive, unreliable, environmentally disruptive, and subsidy-dependent schemes ever forced on American ratepayers and taxpayers,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement.