Government Pays to Kill Offshore Wind

A federal agency is reimbursing a developer to renounce previously purchased offshore wind leases and pledge not to develop new U.S. offshore wind projects, with the company instead directing those funds to liquefied natural gas and oil investments. The deal was announced by the Department of the Interior and involves TotalEnergies renouncing projects off New York and North Carolina in exchange for reimbursement tied to future fossil‑fuel investments. — This establishes a precedent where governments use direct payments or reimbursements to block clean‑energy projects, reshaping the politics, law, and economics of the energy transition.