A major offshore wind player just cashed out of the US—which was the Trump administration's plan. German energy giant RWE will receive $1.22 billion from the federal government to surrender three offshore wind leases off New York, Louisiana, and California, with the money steered toward liquefied natural gas and gas-fired power projects instead, Reuters reports. It's the largest in a string of deals this year in which the administration has paid developers to abandon offshore wind plans, part of its broader push to expand fossil fuels and roll back support for clean energy. The government has now spent nearly $4 billion on such settlements, per the AP.
RWE said US permitting made the projects unworkable, so it's refocusing on projects with "certainty." Interior Secretary Doug Burgum praised the deal on Thursday, saying 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." Democrats and environmental groups ripped the strategy, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer warning it could raise consumers' energy costs. Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said the lease buybacks are effectively a bribe to companies to step away from clean energy that can displace more expensive fossil fuel plants, which in turn will raise costs for consumers. "They are creating this enormous money pump, pulling billions of dollars out of consumers' pockets," Whitehouse said. "That's the real story of what is going on here."
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