U.S. Settlement with Invenergy Continues Trump's War on Wind Power

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Written by John Egan for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

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Summary

The Trump administration on June 17 agreed to pay energy developer Invenergy LLC $765 million in return for the firm relinquishing four offshore windfarm leases and investing the proceeds instead in gas and geothermal generation. That brings to about $2.6 billion that the administration has paid to companies so far in 2026 to walk away from offshore windfarm projects they were developing.

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Invenergy Reaches Settlement with Interior

The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) on June 17 agreed to pay $765 million to power developer Invenergy LLC to relinquish four federal offshore leases that the company planned to use to construct windfarms off the coasts of New York, New Jersey, Maine and California. That sum represents what Invenergy agreed to pay for the leases during the Biden administration. The developer agreed to invest the $765 million in returned funds in gas-fired and geothermal power generation projects it is developing. However, there is no local requirement for the company to follow through with those alternative investments.

Three projects, slated to be built off the coasts of Maine, New York and New Jersey, were in a very early stage of development. The fourth abandoned lease, which was more advanced, was for Even Keel Offshore Wind, a 2,000-megawatt (MW), $3.8 billion project located in Estero Bay, California, that was scheduled to begin construction in late 2028 and be completed by year-end 2030. According to Industrial Info Resources data, there are still 17 active U.S. offshore projects valued at about US$55.8 billion, but the future of many of them is uncertain.

Announcing the settlement, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum underscored the administration's "energy dominance" agenda while emphasizing energy security, the intermittent nature of renewable energy and the need for dispatchable generation.

All-Fronts War Against Renewables

The agreement between brings to about $2.6 billion that the Trump administration has agreed to pay developers this year to abandon offshore leases for wind farms they planned to build.

In one earlier settlement, reached this past March, the DOI agreed to pay TotalEnergies about US$928 million to relinquish two leases it won during the Biden administration to build offshore wind farms off the coasts of New York, New Jersey and the Carolinas. That sum was the amount the global energy major paid for the leases. TotalEnergies agreed to invest that sum in a Gulf Coast liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal and other oil and gas activities. For more on this agreement, see March 24, 2026, article - TotalEnergies Abandons U.S. Offshore Wind Market.

That March agreement was challenged June 2 in a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by New York State Attorney Leticia James, who was joined by the attorneys general from other northeastern "blue" states. Both New Jersey and New York were planning to use the energy from the 2,000-MW New York/New Jersey offshore facility to meet their electricity demand.

Shortly after settling with TotalEnergies, the administration in late April agreed to pay other developers about US$885 million to walk away from offshore wind farm projects they were developing, Golden State Offshore Wind and Bluepoint Wind.

Golden State Offshore Wind was slated to be a floating offshore wind farm of up to 2,000 MW to be built off the coast of Morro Bay, California. On the other side of the country, the Bluepoint Wind project would have been a multi-phase 2,400-MW project built off the coast of New York and New Jersey.

Another branch of the Trump administration, the Department of Defense, also is working to stymie wind farms, citing alleged interference with radar signals to nearby military bases. Clean-energy groups sued the Trump administration over the Pentagon's actions, or inactions, around wind farms. For more on that, see June 9, 2026, article - U.S. Clean Power Groups Sue DOD Over Delays in Wind Project Permitting.

Courts Rule Against Trump

The president's war on wind power has fared poorly in the courts.

In April, a federal judge in Massachusetts blocked five actions by the DOI aimed at halting development of renewable energy. Chief Judge Denise Casper of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued a temporary injunction against the DOI for actions she said were arbitrary and capricious. For more on that, see April 23, 2026, article - Massachusetts Judge Orders Halt to Trump Administration Wind Farm, Solar Requirements.

On December 8, another federal judge ruled that Trump's day-one executive order blocking wind farms was unlawful, arbitrary and capricious.

Remaining Offshore Wind Projects

Notwithstanding the settlements and litigation both filed and expected, the U.S. still has a healthy pipeline of offshore wind projects under development. Industrial Info Resources is tracking 17 offshore wind projects valued at about US$55.8 billion. Most of those projects, valued at approximately US$46.3 billion, are scheduled to be constructed in the Atlantic Ocean. Readers can view these 17 active U.S. offshore wind projects here.

It is an open question how many of those proposed projects will move forward, given the president's hostility to renewable energy. Also, some contemplated offshore wind projects expected to be built on leases won during the Biden administration may not have progressed to the point of getting a project name and timeline.

Britt Burt, Industrial Info Resources' senior vice president of research for the Global Electric Power industry for Industrial Info Resources, said: "A reliable electric system is a 'both/and' proposition, not an 'either/or' one. 'All of the above' means just that--fossil fuels, nuclear, renewables, batteries, and the requisite transmission & distribution infrastructure."

"As is too often the case," he continued, "virtually the only people making money around renewable energy in the U.S. are the lawyers. Given the president's view of renewable energy, absent further court rulings, I expect that will continue to be the case."

Key Takeaways

• The U.S, DOI and the DOD continue to use a variety of means to impede the construction of renewable energy, including wind farms and solar power.
• Several courts have ruled against the Trump administration's efforts to limit renewable energy.
• Additional lawsuits have been filed.

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About Industrial Info Resources
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, Industrial Info Resources is tracking over 250,000 current and future projects worth $30.2 trillion (USD).