California is preparing to take the Trump administration to court over its move to buy out and cancel an offshore wind energy project planned along the state’s central coast.
State officials announced Tuesday that they have sent a formal notice of intent to sue to the Department of the Interior. The legal challenge centers on the administration’s decision to purchase back the lease for Golden State Wind, a floating offshore wind project off California’s central coast.
Offshore wind is a cornerstone of California’s clean energy strategy. The state has set a goal of developing 25 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2045 — enough electricity to serve roughly 25 million homes and account for about 13% of the state’s total energy supply.
California Energy Commission Chair David Hochschild said those energy and climate goals are now under threat, and the state intends to fight back hard. He described the administration’s approach of repurchasing offshore wind leases as “a strategic mistake of colossal proportions,” calling it particularly alarming at a time when fossil fuel prices have been climbing due to the Iran war.
“Countries that thrive around the world are those that lean into innovation, into the energy sources of the future,” Hochschild said in a Tuesday interview. “And so to turn away from this, and turn back the clock, and really engage in what I consider to be a war on innovation, is really ill-considered. And I think it’s a decision that’s not just bad for California, it’s bad for the nation.”
President Donald Trump has championed increased fossil fuel production as a way to deliver affordable and reliable energy to Americans, and he has repeatedly expressed his opposition to wind power. After federal courts blocked his attempts to halt offshore wind development through executive orders, the Interior Department shifted to a new approach: buying back the leases directly.
In these buyback arrangements, companies receive reimbursements for their lease fees in exchange for redirecting that money into fossil fuel and geothermal energy projects. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said last week that “under President Trump, companies are shifting investment back toward dependable, secure energy infrastructure that can power our economy and lower utility costs.”
California currently has five federal offshore wind leases along its coastline. Two of those are being terminated through agreements with the Interior Department: Golden State Wind and a separate floating wind project developed by Chicago-based Invenergy. On Tuesday, the state also issued an administrative investigative subpoena to Invenergy, which last week accepted a $765 million agreement to walk away from its offshore wind leases.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a statement saying the state will not sit back while the Trump administration “illegally strikes deals to kill offshore wind projects and replace them with more windfalls for his fossil fuel friends.”
The total cost of all these lease buyback agreements has reached nearly $2.6 billion. The first deal, announced in March, involves French company TotalEnergies receiving close to $1 billion — essentially a full refund on two offshore wind leases off the coasts of North Carolina and New York — on the condition that the money be reinvested in fossil fuels. New York is leading a legal challenge to that agreement, and congressional Democrats are investigating it.
Golden State Wind and Bluepoint Wind both agreed in April to terminate their leases. Bluepoint Wind had been in the early stages of developing an offshore wind farm off the coasts of New Jersey and New York.
Golden State Wind is a joint venture between Ocean Winds and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Under the terms of its agreement, Golden State Wind can recoup approximately $120 million in lease fees, provided the same amount is invested in oil and gas assets, infrastructure, or projects along the Gulf Coast, according to the Interior Department. Michael Brown, CEO of Ocean Winds North America, said in April that the deal offered “clarity” for the company and its investors.
Hochschild and Bonta contend that the Interior Department illegally used federal taxpayer funds to pay Golden State Wind to abandon its offshore wind lease and invest an equivalent sum in out-of-state fossil fuel projects — moves they say provide no benefit to California’s energy economy.
The two officials also noted that California has invested more than $100 million over the past decade preparing its ports, transmission systems, and industries to support offshore wind development. They warned those investments could be wasted if the Trump administration successfully shuts down offshore wind in the state.
If the matter is not resolved, California intends to file its lawsuit within 60 days.
