RWE abandons US offshore wind for $1.22 billion gas pivot deal with Trump

RWE exits US offshore wind

German energy company RWE has reached a $1.22 billion settlement with the Trump administration to cancel its three offshore wind leases in US waters off New York, California, and Louisiana. The Essen-based company, one of the world's top offshore wind developers, said it had already invested more than $1 billion in the projects, which were in very early stages and would not have come online until the 2030s. The leases could have provided approximately 7 gigawatts of power, sufficient for more than 5 million homes. RWE now holds no remaining US offshore wind leases.

RWE paid $1.1 billion for its New York lease at a 2022 auction held by the Biden administration, with the remaining two leases costing a combined $163 million.

After careful consideration, it was determined that these projects in the US have no realistic prospect of obtaining permits for the foreseeable future.

Reinvestment in gas

RWE plans to redirect the settlement toward fossil fuel projects. The company will spend $900 million to acquire a 16% stake in a Louisiana LNG project and has signed a $300 million turbine order for its pipeline of 15 natural gas peaker plants across the US. Reuters noted that the company did not disclose the LNG project owner or turbine manufacturer, though Australia's Woodside Energy Group is developing a Louisiana LNG terminal. Separately, RWE said it plans to invest approximately €17 billion in the US over the next six years to grow its generation capacity.

Administration's broader campaign

The RWE agreement is the fifth deal the administration has struck this year as part of its effort to stop US offshore wind development. Not including the RWE settlement, the administration has cut about $2.7 billion in deals with TotalEnergies, Ocean Winds, Invenergy, and Duke Energy, canceling nine federal leases. The Independent reported that the total spent on similar settlements now stands at roughly $3.9 billion. In March 2026, the DOI reached a deal with TotalEnergies, ending the French company's US offshore wind projects; TotalEnergies agreed to invest instead in an LNG plant in Texas and conventional oil in the Gulf of Mexico.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked wind power, calling turbines "big, ugly windmills" and describing green energy policies as a "green scam." The administration adopted the lease buyback strategy after federal courts thwarted earlier efforts to stop offshore wind through executive action.

Political reactions

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said Americans "deserve an energy system built on common sense, not one dependent on costly subsidies or technologies that can't meet our country's current demand." He welcomed RWE's agreement and voluntary investment in projects that strengthen US energy security. A ministry spokesperson added that offshore wind energy remains highly dependent on foreign supply chains.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat of Rhode Island, criticized the buybacks, saying they effectively bribe companies to abandon clean energy that can displace more expensive fossil fuel plants.

They are creating this enormous money pump, pulling billions of dollars out of consumers' pockets.

Several US states are suing over the loss of offshore wind energy, and California intends to file suit. A group of 50 US environmental groups wrote to the administration in May, though the article was cut off before detailing their message.