US strikes $1.2bn deal to pay German firm to halt offshore wind projects

US strikes $1.2bn deal to pay German firm to halt offshore wind projects

German energy company RWE has said it will abandon its offshore wind projects in the US after reaching a $1.2bn (£892m) payout deal with President Donald Trump's Department of the Interior (DoI).

RWE said that it will now reinvest the sum into conventional gas projects, including $900m (£669m) in a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal project in Louisiana.

"After careful consideration, it was determined there is no path forward to permit these projects in the US for the foreseeable future," the company said in a statement.

RWE said it has agreed to relinquish its leases off the California and Louisiana coasts as well as in the New York Bight.

Overall, the German firm plans to invest approximately €17bn (£14.5bn; $19.6bn) in the US over the next six years "to grow its generation capacity".

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement posted on X that Americans deserve an energy system built on common sense and not one dependent on "costly subsidies".

"We welcome RWE's agreement and voluntary investment in projects that strengthen our nation's energy security," he added.

The deal is the latest the Trump administration has reached this year as Trump, a vocal supporter of the fossil fuel industry, continues his push to halt offshore wind projects.

Trump has sought to boost government support for fossil fuels after campaigning for the presidency under the slogan "drill, baby, drill".

Days after his return to office, he said "we're not going to do the wind thing" and called them "big, ugly windmills" that were dangerous to wildlife.

In March 2026, the DoI reached a deal with TotalEnergies putting an end to the French company's offshore wind projects in the US.

Instead, the firm agreed to reroute investment to build a LNG plant in Texas and to develop "upstream conventional oil" in the Gulf of Mexico.

The administration signed a similar $129m (£96m) agreement with Charlotte-based Duke Energy last month in exchange for the termination of the company's offshore wind lease in the Carolina Long Bay area.