New York Attorney General Letitia James is suing the Trump Administration over unlawful cancellations of offshore wind leases. She said the federal government illegally paid TotalEnergies $795 million to abandon offshore wind projects which could have saved New Yorkers $10 billion in energy bills and created more than 1,700 jobs. (Adobe Stock)
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By Edwin J. Viera
Aug 11, 2026
The Trump administration is buying back New York offshore wind leases as it moves forward with plans to expand the use of fossil fuels.
The company RWE U.S. Offshore is receiving more than $1 billion to give up its leases to build wind farms off the coasts of New York, California and Louisiana. It is one of several deals the federal government made with renewable energy companies to get them to invest in fossil fuels instead.
Adrienne Esposito, executive director of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment, said now is not the time to ditch renewables.
“We’re living in a time right now where our energy costs are going up because we’re being held hostage by oil industries and there’s geopolitical circumstances such as wars,” Esposito pointed out. “We could be generating clean, safe, homegrown energy here in America.”
In the last year and a half, the federal government has issued a series of stop-work orders for various offshore wind projects, though the courts consistently overturned them. In addition, data show the federal permitting process for energy projects can hold them up for more than a decade, excluding the time needed to address lawsuits against the projects.
New York has invested billions of dollars to build offshore wind parts and connect them to the electric grid. The state’s first offshore wind farm, South Fork Wind, off the coast of Long Island has exceeded energy generation expectations since opening in 2024.
Julie Tighe, president of the New York League of Conservation Voters, said there are other renewable energies the state should invest in more.
“Solar has really been our savior this year and we’ve seen that last year too, where it’s helping to lower the peak during the hottest days, helping to save ratepayers $200 million in this latest heatwave because of how effective it’s been,” Tighe emphasized.
Tighe added the state can look to increase battery storage and build out more of the state’s transmission infrastructure.
New York still has two more offshore wind farms being developed, which are slated to begin operation in 2027. Empire Wind One and Sunrise Wind are expected to generate more than 1,700 megawatts combined, enough to power 1 million homes.