Posted on April 1, 2026
In a new attack on clean energy, the Trump administration will pay French energy developer TotalEnergies nearly $1 billion in taxpayer dollars to cancel two offshore wind projects that would have put at least 37,000 people to work building 4 gigawatts (GW) of new clean energy, enough to power 1.3 million homes in New Jersey and North Carolina.
As part of the deal, the company has now agreed to “renounce offshore wind development in the United States.” Instead, TotalEnergies will reinvest almost $1 billion in unnamed gas production and liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facilities in Texas intended to provide fuel for the development of data centers in the United States and European markets. Not only will Americans living along the East Coast lose out on $2.8 billion in electric bill savings by 2035, but the export of more fuel overseas is also likely to raise energy prices throughout the country.
This is an abuse of taxpayer dollars and an attempt to compel a private company to spend capital on oil and gas interests, trading electricity the country desperately needs for fuel to be shipped overseas.
This deal is a lose-lose for Americans
Americans will foot the bill for a worse deal under this new agreement. In exchange for canceling the wind projects, the Trump administration is guaranteeing a taxpayer-funded, “dollar-for-dollar” match of TotalEnergies’ investments into oil and gas projects and exports along the Gulf. This reimbursement will equal up to the $928 million value of the leases TotalEnergies bought to build its Attentive Energy and Carolina Long Bay wind projects.
As a result, Americans will lose out on utility bill savings. By cutting clean energy supply along the Atlantic Coast, the deal will cost Americans savings of $19 for every megawatt hour of electricity they use at home, or $2.8 billion, by 2035. In a press release, the U.S. Department of the Interior said TotalEnergies pledged “not to develop any new offshore wind projects in the United States,” despite the fact that wind energy is helping to meet growing U.S. energy demand.
Due to new LNG investments, Americans will also lose out from higher natural gas prices. The agreement cancels 4 GW of potential wind power and stipulates that TotalEnergies reinvest in oil, natural gas, and LNG exports instead. U.S. LNG exports have already hit a record high and have burdened taxpayers with $12 billion in additional energy costs—or $124 more per household since President Donald Trump took office—as well as $957 million in annual pollution-related health care costs. Reinvesting nearly $1 billion into these sources is a win for the fossil fuel industry, not for Americans.
In addition to canceling new energy capacity at home, the Trump administration is choking energy supply abroad and driving up oil and gas costs. The war in Iran has virtually closed the Strait of Hormuz and hindered roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and gas trade. This caused a 48 cent per-gallon jump in the domestic price of gasoline within the first week of the conflict, a 3 percent increase in domestic natural gas prices, and a doubling of international LNG prices. Notably, expanding U.S. LNG export capacity will leave Americans even more exposed to international gas supply shocks. The administration touts “energy dominance” as national priority but is impeding U.S. energy security on multiple fronts.
