US Buys Out Offshore Wind Projects in $900m Deals

The Trump administration has reached agreements with two more energy firms to exit their offshore wind projects, with nearly $900 million being paid to Bluepoint Wind and Golden State Wind to terminate their leases.

As part of the deals, both companies will give up their offshore wind leases and agree not to pursue future offshore wind developments in the United States.

Bluepoint Wind was an early-stage project planned off the coasts of New Jersey and New York, while Golden State Wind was a proposed floating wind development off central California.

The US Department of the Interior said the agreements follow a similar approach to a recent $1 billion settlement with TotalEnergies, which withdrew from offshore wind leases off North Carolina and New York earlier this year. Under that arrangement, the company returned its leases and redirected investment toward fossil fuel projects.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum supported the decision, arguing that offshore wind projects relied heavily on government subsidies.

“Now that hardworking Americans are no longer footing the bill for expensive, unreliable, intermittent energy projects, companies are once again investing in affordable, reliable, secure energy infrastructure,” Burgum said.

Under the terms of the latest agreements, Bluepoint Wind’s lease will be canceled, and the company will receive up to $765 million. Global Infrastructure Partners, part of BlackRock and a partner in the project, has committed to investing those funds into a US-based LNG facility.

Golden State Wind will be eligible to recover approximately $120 million in lease costs after investing an equivalent amount into oil and gas assets, related infrastructure, or LNG projects along the Gulf Coast. Neither company will move forward with new offshore wind plans in the US.

Both projects were expected to be significant contributors to renewable energy, each capable of powering more than one million homes and supporting clean energy targets in states such as New Jersey, New York, and California.

“The Department of Justice is committed to working with parties to reach agreements that are in the best interests of the nation and the American people – protracted litigation benefits neither, and I am proud to have helped facilitate today’s historic deals that advance the president’s Energy Dominance Agenda,” said associate attorney general Stanley E. Woodward.