Seven U.S. states, led by New York, sued the Trump administration on Tuesday, saying it canceled a large offshore wind lease off the coast of New York in exchange for its owner’s promise to invest in fossil fuel projects.
A lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., challenges the March 23 ruling Decide The U.S. Interior Department is demanding that France’s Total Energies unit cancel its lease, “repay” $795 million to the company, and require the company to commit not to develop new offshore wind projects in the United States.
Total also agreed to spend nearly $1 billion on a Texas liquefied natural gas plant and U.S. oil and gas drilling.
The deal represents a new strategy in a broad government effort stop The development of U.S. offshore wind projects, which President Donald Trump has said he considers ugly and expensive. His administration has sought to increase domestic fossil fuel production and rolled back policies supporting clean energy development.
The Justice Department declined to comment on the lawsuit.
The project, called Attentive Energy, could provide enough power for 1.3 million homes in New York and New Jersey, states said. Both states rely on offshore wind development to meet growing energy demand and reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.
In addition to New York, the states where the lawsuit was filed include New Jersey, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont.
According to the complaint, the states accuse the government of failing to follow proper administrative procedures and misusing government funds reserved for legal settlements, although no lawsuit has been filed between the parties.
“This ‘pay and don’t play’ scheme, which forces foreign companies to abandon planned offshore wind projects in the United States in favor of natural gas and oil drilling, is a gross misuse of taxpayer funds and harms our ability to meet energy needs, create good jobs and help ensure American energy independence while reducing emissions,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement.
Officials at the Interior Ministry and TotalEnergies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York and Nichola Groom in Los Angeles; Editing by Nomiyama Chizu, Rod Nickel)
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