Trump Keeps Spending US Tax Dollars to Kill Offshore Wind and Boost Oil and Gas
This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. The German energy company RWE has reached a $1.22 billion deal with the US government to relinquish its offshore wind leases and instead redirect funds towards fossil fuel investments. The agreement marks the fifth deal the Donald Trump administration has struck with energy […]
The Trump administration has funneled substantial taxpayer funds into projects designed to stifle offshore wind energy development and promote fossil fuel investments, according to a recent report. The German energy conglomerate RWE has struck a deal with the US government to divest from offshore wind leases off the coasts of New York, California, and Louisiana, and instead funnel up to $1.22 billion towards fossil fuel ventures.
This is the fifth such agreement under the Trump administration, which has now expended nearly $4 billion of public funds on such initiatives.
RWE's decision to abandon the leases stems from what the company perceives as an insurmountable path to permit the projects in the US at present. The administration has also allocated up to $1.1 billion to bolster coal production, a move criticized as benefiting the administration's allies while simultaneously inflating energy costs for American citizens.
RWE's New York lease was purchased for $1.1 billion during a 2022 auction orchestrated by the Biden administration, while its Louisiana and California leases cost a combined $163 million.
As part of the agreement, RWE will invest $900 million to acquire a 16 percent stake in a Louisiana LNG project, with the settlement proceeds earmarked for terminal construction. Additionally, the company has entered into a $300 million agreement to reserve 15 natural gas peaker plants across the country. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum applauded the arrangement, emphasizing its contribution to energy security and affordable electricity, while asserting its potential to bolster the nation's long-term energy landscape.
The RWE agreement is the most substantial pledge made by the Trump administration to environmental adversaries, surpassing the combined $2.7 billion spent on both TotalEnergies and Duke Energy to nullify their offshore wind leases. This development prompted legal action from seven states, including New York, who contend that the deal constitutes a deceptive and unlawful arrangement.
Moreover, the administration's expenditure on coal and LNG projects has drawn scrutiny for allegedly fattening the coffers of administration allies while simultaneously burdening American taxpayers with escalating energy expenses. In the same vein, the federal government is simultaneously pursuing measures to curtail public input periods for fossil fuel drilling on federal lands while shouldering greater cleanup costs on taxpayers.
Written by urgent.news from Mother Jones's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
