Newsroom
In an almost too ironic twist, the Trump administration announced it will pay French energy giant TotalEnergies nearly $1 billion to scrap plans for offshore wind farms on the US East Coast, just as global oil and gas prices spike due to the conflict in Iran.
Under the deal, TotalEnergies will give up leases off New York and North Carolina and pledge not to develop new offshore wind projects in the US. In return, the company will redirect that nearly $1 billion toward building fossil fuel infrastructure, including oil, gas, and LNG projects in Texas and the Gulf of Mexico.
Critics call the move a “taxpayer-funded bribe” that undermines homegrown clean energy at the very moment Americans are feeling the pinch at the pump. Sam Salustro of pro-wind group Oceantic Network said the deal removes affordable, reliable power from the grid while leaving consumers to shoulder soaring electricity costs.
It’s not the first time the Trump administration has tried to halt East Coast wind projects. Courts have repeatedly ruled that existing projects, including the recently completed Vineyard Wind off Massachusetts and Revolution Wind off Rhode Island, must go ahead despite White House opposition.
Environmental advocates say the timing is especially ironic: as strikes in Iran disrupt global energy markets and push oil prices toward record highs, the US is effectively paying a private company to abandon clean, stable energy in favor of the same volatile fossil fuels causing the crisis.
“This deepens our dependence on fossil fuels at a time when offshore wind could actually protect Americans from these very price shocks,” said Lena Moffitt of Evergreen Action.
For TotalEnergies, it’s a win financially. For US consumers, and anyone hoping for a push toward clean energy, the irony is hard to miss: billions are spent to kill wind while the nation burns more oil and gas than ever.
*Source: Reuters, The Guardian
