Trump Administration to Pay TotalEnergies $1 Billion to Reimburse Offshore Wind Leases and Redirect Funds to U.S. Fossil‑Fuel Projects
The Trump administration has agreed to pay French energy company TotalEnergies about $1 billion (nearly $928 million tied to two leases) to reimburse lease fees and abandon offshore wind projects off New York and North Carolina, a deal the Interior Department called a “refund.” TotalEnergies, which had already paused the projects and pledged to forgo further U.S. offshore wind development, plans to redirect the funds into U.S. fossil‑fuel projects — including a Texas LNG facility, Gulf oil drilling and shale gas — a move Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said supports affordable, reliable baseload power, though officials have not immediately explained how the payment will be financed.
📌 Key Facts
- The Trump administration agreed to pay French company TotalEnergies about $1 billion (reported as nearly $928 million) to reimburse offshore-wind lease fees for two projects off New York and North Carolina; the Interior Department described the payment as a 'refund'.
- TotalEnergies had paused both projects after Trump was elected and has pledged to forgo all new U.S. offshore-wind development.
- Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, speaking at a Houston conference, framed the deal as allowing dollars already paid into the U.S. Treasury to be redirected toward 'affordable, reliable and secure' oil and gas production and emphasized the need for 'dependable, affordable' and 'secure U.S. baseload power'.
- MS NOW reports TotalEnergies plans to redirect the reimbursed funds into a Texas liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility, Gulf of Mexico oil drilling and shale-gas production, with aims to supply LNG to Europe and gas for U.S. data centers.
- The leases were granted under the Biden administration; Interior and the Justice Department did not immediately explain how the $1 billion payment will be financed.
- The move is part of a broader rollback of Biden-era clean-energy incentives: the Trump administration previously issued stop-work orders for five fully permitted offshore-wind projects citing national security concerns, and federal courts have enjoined those orders.
- The canceled TotalEnergies projects were expected to generate enough electricity to power more than 1.3 million homes and businesses across New York, New Jersey and North Carolina.
- By contrast, Revolution Wind—an unrelated project the Trump administration tried and failed to block—has come online and is expected to power more than 350,000 Rhode Island and Connecticut homes and businesses and to save New England consumers up to $500 million in wholesale energy costs.
- MS NOW framed the Interior–TotalEnergies deal in the context of President Trump’s long-standing personal hostility to wind power, citing his past campaign against turbines visible from his Scotland golf course and his 2019 false claim that turbine noise 'causes cancer'.
📰 Source Timeline (4)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
March 24, 2026
5:24 PM
Trump administration using tax dollars to pay foreign company to scrap U.S. wind farm projects
New information:
- Revolution Wind, an unrelated offshore wind project the Trump administration tried and failed to block, has come online and is expected to power more than 350,000 homes and businesses in Rhode Island and Connecticut and save New England consumers up to $500 million in wholesale energy costs.
- The canceled TotalEnergies projects off New York and North Carolina were expected to generate enough electricity to power more than 1.3 million homes and businesses across New York, New Jersey and North Carolina.
- The article explicitly frames the Interior‑TotalEnergies deal as part of President Trump’s long‑standing personal hostility to wind power, rooted in his decade‑old fight over turbines visible from his Scotland golf course, including his 2019 false claim that turbine noise 'causes cancer.'
March 23, 2026
10:25 PM
Trump administration to pay energy firm $1 billion to stop East Coast wind farms
New information:
- Confirms the lease reimbursement figure as 'nearly $928 million' for two offshore wind farms off New York and North Carolina.
- Details that TotalEnergies plans to redirect the reimbursed funds into a Texas liquefied natural gas facility, Gulf of Mexico oil drilling and shale gas production, with an explicit aim to supply LNG to Europe and gas for U.S. data centers.
- Reports Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s Houston conference announcement language that the administration is 'allowing' TotalEnergies to redirect dollars already paid into the U.S. Treasury toward 'affordable, reliable and secure' oil and gas production.
- Notes that the leases were granted under the Biden administration and that Interior and DOJ did not immediately explain how the $1 billion payment will be financed.
- Adds context that the Trump administration previously issued stop‑work orders for five fully permitted offshore wind projects citing national security concerns, which federal courts have since enjoined, and links this move to an ongoing broader rollback of Biden‑era clean‑energy incentives.
8:36 PM
Trump administration to pay French company $1B to drop U.S. offshore wind leases
New information:
- NPR/AP framing confirms the Interior Department characterizes the deal as a 'refund' of lease fees for projects off North Carolina and New York.
- Article reiterates that TotalEnergies had already paused both projects after Trump was elected and has now pledged to forgo all new U.S. offshore wind development.
- Story adds further on‑the‑record language from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum emphasizing 'dependable, affordable power' and 'secure U.S. baseload power' as justifications.