Trump to Pay Off Wind Energy Developer to Not Build Wind Energy
With energy prices at record highs and new data centers drawing straining grids, Trump seeks to keep prices high for consumers
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration today announced it would pay to terminate four offshore wind leases held by Invenergy, paying the company $765 million not to build wind energy, and “redirect that amount” towards other sources, including polluters like gas-fired plants. The cancelled projects include wind leases located in the New York Bight, Central Coast of California and the Gulf of Maine. As recently as November 2025, the company touted the green energy jobs set to be created by the projects. Invenergy has since taken its offshore wind energy webpage offline. In response, David Arkush, director of Public Citizen’s Climate Program, issued the following statement:
“Wasting taxpayer money to cajole a company not to build desperately needed renewable energy is an extremely wasteful policy. President Trump’s phony ‘Energy Dominance Agenda’ is about one thing: blocking cheaper renewable power to force Americans to pay more money to his fossil-fuel cronies. Between today’s announcement about Invenergy and TotalEnergies getting paid more than $900 million to not build offshore wind power, the administration has recently spent more than $1.6 billion to stop renewable energy projects that would ease Americans’ electricity bills without destroying our habitat.
“Trump’s energy policy also puts us further and further behind China, which is surging ahead on the renewable power that will soon dominate the globe.
“Spending taxpayer money to halt renewables strains our household budgets, enriches fossil fuel CEOs and robs our economy and our future of the desperately needed development of cheaper, cleaner, renewable power.”
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