German energy company RWE will abandon its offshore wind projects in the United States after reaching a $1.2 billion compensation agreement with the U.S. Department of the Interior.
RWE said it will reinvest the compensation in conventional natural gas projects, including a $900 million investment in a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal project in Louisiana.
“After careful consideration, it was determined that there is no realistic prospect of these projects receiving approval in the United States in the foreseeable future,” the company said in a statement.
The German energy group also agreed to relinquish its offshore leases off the coasts of California, Louisiana, and the New York Bight.
Overall, RWE plans to invest around €17 billion (nearly $20 billion) in the United States over the next six years to expand its energy generation capacity.
The BBC notes that President Donald Trump has mocked wind power for years, frequently referring to wind turbines as “ugly.”
“Every country with windmills is a loser,” Trump said this week, criticizing nations that rely on wind energy.
Trump has long been a strong supporter of the fossil fuel industry—famously campaigning under the slogan “drill, baby, drill”—and has continued efforts to halt the expansion of offshore wind farms.
In a similar vein, though in more measured language, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum wrote on X following RWE’s withdrawal that Americans deserve an energy system based on “common sense” rather than one dependent on costly subsidies.
Last March, the U.S. Department of the Interior reached a similar agreement with TotalEnergies, ending the French energy company’s offshore wind projects in the United States. TotalEnergies also agreed to redirect its investments toward the construction of an LNG facility in Texas and the development of conventional oil resources in the Gulf of Mexico.
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