Government reaches agreement with TotalEnergies to exchange wind projects for oil projects
The agreement was unveiled by U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, whose office is in charge of natural resources management, at a press conference during the annual CERAWeek forum in Houston, along with TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne.
TotalEnergies Logo
The United States announced Monday a deal with France's TotalEnergies to end its nearly $1 billion wind farm projects in the country and redirect the funds to oil and natural gas production.
The deal was unveiled by U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, whose office is in charge of natural resources management, at a press conference during the annual CERAWeek forum in Houston, alongside TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne.
French giant TotalEnergies had offshore wind projects under development to produce 4 gigawatts (GW), including 3 GW for the New York Bight project and 1 GW in North Carolina.
But by the end of 2024, Pouyanne announced they were "on hold" due to the unlikelihood of obtaining federal licenses from the Donald Trump administration.
Under former President Joe Biden, the United States had accelerated progress on wind farm construction as part of its fight against climate change.
Trump has reversed course on many of Biden's climate policies, targeting wind power in particular.
The Trump administration's position
In December, the Trump administration halted five wind power projects, citing "national security" risks.
That order was subsequently overturned by rulings from several U.S. federal courts, allowing the work to resume.
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