Federal Buyouts Kill Offshore Wind

The federal government is paying energy developers to forfeit offshore wind leases and cancel early‑stage projects, with firms agreeing to redirect commitments toward fossil‑fuel investments. These deals (modeled on an earlier TotalEnergies settlement) use public funds and accounting rules that may count past investments toward new pledges, raising questions about real additionality and the integrity of climate policy. — This practice creates a new policy precedent where public money is used to remove renewable capacity and funnel private capital back into fossil infrastructure, with implications for emissions, markets, and democratic accountability.