By Kashmira Konduparty
A coalition of seven Northeastern states has sued the Trump administration over a nearly $1 billion agreement that halted major offshore wind projects and redirected the investment toward fossil fuel development, according to a report by ABC News.
The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday in federal court in Washington, D.C., challenges a March agreement between the U.S. Department of the Interior and French energy company TotalEnergies. Under the deal, TotalEnergies received a refund of approximately $928 million for offshore wind leases off the coasts of New York and North Carolina in exchange for abandoning the projects and investing in domestic fossil fuel initiatives instead.
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The legal challenge is being led by New York Attorney General Letita James and includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Vermont. The states argue that the agreement unlawfully used taxpayer funds and violated federal laws governing offshore energy leases. They are asking the court to invalidate the deal and prevent further implementation.
According to the lawsuit, the administration exceeded its authority under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, which limits the Interior Department’s ability to cancel offshore wind leases. The states also contend that federal officials improperly used the Treasury Department’s Judgement Fund, a source of money typically reserved for court judgements and legal settlements, to reimburse TotalEnergies for the canceled projects.
State officials say the canceled projects would have supported clean energy goals, created jobs and strengthened regional power supplies. One of the affected developments, known as Attentive Energy, was expected to generate enough electricity to power more than a million homes. The states argue that terminating the projects threatens economic growth and undermines efforts to expand renewable energy infrastructure.
The Trump administration has defended the agreement, describing it as a step toward affordable and reliable energy. Interior Department officials have argued that the original offshore wind leases approved under the previous administration posed national security concerns and would have increased costs for consumers.
The department also said that “these settlements were reviewed and approved by the Department of Justice,” underscoring that they went through “appropriate channels.”
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“This administration will not sit back and let reckless projects create higher utility costs, a weakened energy system, and unnecessary harm to the environment,” the spokesperson added.
The lawsuit names the U.S. Department of Interior, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Department of Justice and defendants.
TotalEnergies and its subsidiary Attentive Energy are also tied to the challenged agreement. A federal judge will now determine whether the agreement can remain in place as the lawsuit moves forward.