US to pay almost $1bn to French energy company to kill wind project plan

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: The Guardian

As a fuel crisis triggered by the war in Iran drives up global fossil fuel prices, the Trump administration has announced it will pay French energy major TotalEnergies $1bn to kill plans to construct wind farms off the US east coast.
...
In the deal announced on Monday, TotalEnergies will give up two offshore leases it had purchased off New York and North Carolina. Trump’s Department of the Interior will reimburse the company the $928m it paid for the leases under Joe Biden.

TotalEnergies has pledged not to develop any new offshore wind projects in the country, a US interior department statement said, and will invest nearly $1bn this year in the development of four trains at the Rio Grande LNG plant in Texas, and the development of upstream conventional oil in the US Gulf and shale gas production, the statement said.
...
Lena Moffitt, executive director of the climate advocacy group Evergreen Action, called the new deal “a taxpayer-funded bribe to kill homegrown clean energy and hand the money straight to oil and gas executives”.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/23/trump-administration-wind-project-plan

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Lena Moffit sums it up well. Total sees free money, some of which will go to the people accepting it as bonuses or rises in their stock price, so of course they'll accept the bribe. And of course Trump offered it, because it's not his money. He doesn't pay taxes.

[sinkingfeeling]

1. US turning out to be the dumbest f*cking contry in the world.

[BeyondGeography]

2. Kill baby kill!

It’s all so pathetic.

[eShirl]

3. why are we paying to shoot ourselves in the foot

[ananda]

4. Greed is the root of all evil.

i mean, the French company IS taking
the money to do the wrong thing.

[gohuskies]

5. Another ignorant decision by Trump and the Oil Cabal leading him around by the nose

This is one of the most wrong-headed policy unravelings by the tRump mal-administration. Blindly denying climate change and adopting practices to hasten the collapse of a stabilized climate is going to make Earth ultimately uninhabitable by triggering a man-made mass extinction event. I'm a old man now, but future generations will have to face bleak and dire conditions leading to a catastrophic end. This is madness, pure and simple.

[PSPS]

6. How many people have their own "epstein button" on trump?

That's what bibi threatened trump with when he visited him in private before the war.

[OKIsItJustMe]

7. AP: Trump administration to pay French company $1B to walk away from US offshore wind leases

https://apnews.com/article/trump-offshore-wind-energy-climate-totalenergies-interior-092eeeacc5d09730d4e20a95d7df7de1

By JENNIFER McDERMOTT and MATTHEW DALY
Updated 5:12 PM EDT, March 23, 2026

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — The Trump administration will pay $1 billion to a French company to walk away from two U.S. offshore wind leases as the administration ramps up its campaign against offshore wind and other renewable energy.

TotalEnergies has agreed to what’s essentially a refund of its leases for projects off the coasts of North Carolina and New York, and will invest the money in fossil fuel projects instead, the Department of Interior announced Monday.

President Donald Trump’s administration has tried to halt offshore wind construction, but federal judges repeatedly overturned those orders.

The Interior Department hailed the “innovative agreement” with the French energy giant and said, “the American people will no longer pay for ideological subsidies that benefited only the unreliable and costly offshore wind industry.″

…

[OKIsItJustMe]

8. Interior and TotalEnergies Agree to End Offshore Wind Projects, Lowering Costs for American Families

https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-and-totalenergies-agree-end-offshore-wind-projects-lowering-costs-american

Department reaches an agreement with TotalEnergies to renounce costly offshore wind leases and redirect company’s investment into U.S. LNG production

03/23/2026
Last edited 03/23/2026

WASHINGTON — Today, the Department of the Interior announced a landmark agreement with TotalEnergies for the company to redirect capital from expensive, unreliable offshore wind leases toward affordable, reliable natural gas projects that will provide secure energy for hardworking Americans.

TotalEnergies has committed to invest approximately $1 billion—the value of its renounced offshore wind leases—in oil and natural gas and LNG production in the United States. Following their new investment, the United States will reimburse the company dollar-for-dollar, up to the amount they paid in lease purchases for offshore wind. Under this innovative agreement driven by President Donald J. Trump’s Energy Dominance Agenda, the American people will no longer pay for ideological subsidies that benefited only the unreliable and costly offshore wind industry.

Additionally, in light of the national security concerns, TotalEnergies has pledged not to develop any new offshore wind projects in the United States.

“This agreement is yet another win for President Trump’s commitment to affordable and reliable energy for all Americans,” said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. “Offshore wind is one of the most expensive, unreliable, environmentally disruptive, and subsidy-dependent schemes ever forced on American ratepayers and taxpayers. We welcome TotalEnergies’ commitment to developing projects that produce dependable, affordable power to lower Americans' monthly bills while providing secure U.S. baseload power today—and in the future.”

“Today’s agreement prioritizes affordability for hardworking American consumers over the prior administration’s ideological, ineffective energy policies,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Americans will benefit from this significant investment in our energy industry, which will also enhance our national security and grid reliability.”

…

[mahatmakanejeeves]

9. Leading up to the decision:

Thu Mar 19, 2026: Trump admin new plan: Pay the already-approved wind farm nearly ONE BILLION DOLLARS of your tax money to just walk away.

[OKIsItJustMe]

10. OMFG!