New York is leading a coalition of seven Democrat-led states that is suing the Trump administration over a buyout deal struck earlier this year that resulted in the cancellation of an offshore wind farm lease. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) and state Attorney General Letitia James (D) announced on Tuesday that the state is suing the Trump administration over its decision to cancel a lease for an offshore wind project off the coast of New York.The administration killed the project in March by agreeing to pay French energy company TotalEnergies $928 million in exchange for backing out.
The Democrats argue that the payments amounted to an illegal payoff. The administration has defended the deal by saying the funds were a dollar-for-dollar reimbursement of what TotalEnergies spent on the lease, as well as a second federal water lease for a project off the coast of North Carolina.
The New York project, known as Attentive Energy, was expected to be located roughly 54 miles south of Long Island, producing enough energy to power more than 1 million homes and businesses by the early 2030s. The company paused the project after President Donald Trump won the 2024 election.
As part of the deal with the administration, TotalEnergies agreed to walk away from the project, not to develop any new offshore wind projects in the United States, and invest in fossil fuel projects.
