RWE to Drop US Offshore Wind Projects Under $1.2bn Interior Deal

The agreement

German energy company RWE said it will abandon its offshore wind projects in the United States after reaching a $1.2bn (£892m) payout deal with President Donald Trump's Department of the Interior, the BBC reported on 7 August. The company said it will reinvest the sum in conventional gas projects, including $900m (£669m) in a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal project in Louisiana.

„After careful consideration, it was determined there is no path forward to permit these projects in the US for the foreseeable future,“ RWE said in a statement. The company has agreed to relinquish its leases off the California and Louisiana coasts as well as in the New York Bight. Overall, RWE plans to invest approximately €17bn (£14.5bn; $19.6bn) in the United States over the next six years to grow its generation capacity.

Reaction in Washington

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement posted on X that Americans deserve an energy system built on common sense rather than one dependent on „costly subsidies“. „We welcome RWE's agreement and voluntary investment in projects that strengthen our nation's energy security,“ he added.

Trump has derided wind power for years and often uses rally speeches to rail against „ugly“ turbines. Days after returning to office he said „we're not going to do the wind thing“, calling the structures „big, ugly windmills“ that were dangerous to wildlife. This week he said that „any country with windmills is a loser“.

Part of a wider push

The deal is the latest the administration has reached this year as it continues its push to halt offshore wind development. In March 2026, the Department of the Interior reached an agreement with TotalEnergies that ended the French company's offshore wind projects in the US; the firm agreed instead to build an LNG plant in Texas and to develop upstream conventional oil in the Gulf of Mexico. Last month, the administration signed a similar $129m (£96m) agreement with Charlotte-based Duke Energy in exchange for terminating the company's offshore wind lease in the Carolina Long Bay area.