Jeff’s Take:
The article states. “The Interior Department has cited national security concerns from a classified Defense Department report as justification for halting renewable energy permits.” Yeah. Right. Renewable energy will be America’s downfall. While China races ahead of us in developing all types of energy.
Article Summary:
The Trump administration has agreed to pay French energy company TotalEnergies $1 billion to abandon two offshore wind farm projects off New York and North Carolina, redirecting the investment toward oil and gas development instead.
President Trump has long opposed offshore wind energy, calling turbines unattractive, costly, and harmful to wildlife—claims that industry advocates dispute. This settlement represents a new tactic by the Interior Department to halt offshore wind development, complementing previously issued stop-work orders on five permitted projects that were blocked by court injunctions.
Under the agreement, TotalEnergies will return its two wind leases to the federal government and has committed to avoiding future offshore wind projects in the United States. The company will redirect $928 million toward a Texas liquefied natural gas facility, shale gas production, and oil drilling. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum defended the deal, stating it would free up funds from “expensive, weather dependent offshore wind” for “affordable, reliable and secure oil and natural gas production.”
Both projects—Attentive Energy and Carolina Long Bay—were still in planning phases and not yet fully permitted. The Interior Department has cited national security concerns from a classified Defense Department report as justification for halting renewable energy permits.