RWE accepts $1.2bn US payout to exit offshore wind for gas investments
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum welcomes the deal as a shift toward energy security, marking the latest in a series of administrative agreements terminating renewable leases in favour of fossil fuel infrastructure.
The US Department of the Interior has finalised a $1.2 billion agreement with German energy company RWE to terminate its offshore wind projects across the United States. Under the terms of the deal, RWE will relinquish its leases located off the coasts of California and Louisiana, as well as in the New York Bight. The German firm stated that it could not secure the necessary permits for these developments for the foreseeable future, prompting the decision to abandon the ventures.
In a statement, RWE confirmed it would reinvest the compensation into conventional gas infrastructure. A significant portion of the funds, valued at $900 million, is earmarked for a liquefied natural gas export terminal in Louisiana. The company also outlined a broader strategic plan to invest approximately €17 billion in the US over the next six years to expand its overall generation capacity.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum welcomed the agreement, framing it as a decisive move toward national energy security. Burgum stated that Americans deserve an energy system built on common sense rather than one dependent on costly subsidies. He emphasised that the administration supports voluntary investments in projects that strengthen the nation's power grid, aligning with the current administration's preference for fossil fuel development.
This arrangement follows a pattern established earlier in the year by the Trump administration. In March 2026, the Department of the Interior reached a similar deal with TotalEnergies, which agreed to end its US offshore wind projects in exchange for rerouting investment to an LNG plant in Texas and upstream conventional oil development in the Gulf of Mexico. More recently, the administration signed an agreement with Duke Energy to terminate a lease in the Carolina Long Bay area.
President Donald Trump has long been critical of wind energy, previously describing turbines as big, ugly windmills and stating that the US would not pursue the wind sector. Since returning to office, the administration has intensified its push to boost government support for the fossil fuel industry, a policy stance central to his campaign slogan of drill, baby, drill. The RWE deal represents the latest step in this broader regulatory shift away from renewable energy leases.
