The Trump administration reached a deal with TotalEnergies to walk away from offshore wind and invest roughly $1 billion into U.S. oil, gas, and LNG, with federal reimbursement covering prior wind lease costs. After courts blocked earlier attempts to halt projects, this approach effectively pays them to reverse course.
The administration says the investment will support energy security and help meet rising demand, but such moves risk undercutting broader confidence in the already shaky permitting process. If projects that clear the process can still be reversed, it makes it harder to build anything at scale.