Trump administration refunds TotalEnergies $1 billion for abandoning wind power in favor of gas

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An unexpected turn of events is shaking up the US renewable energy sector: French giant TotalEnergies has officially announced its withdrawal from the development of offshore wind projects in the US.

This decision marks a clear change of strategic direction, as the multinational has signed relinquishment agreements with the Department of the Interior (DOI) for licenses obtained in 2022 in the Carolina Long Bay and New York Bight areas.

Costs too high and impact on consumers

According to the oil group, the development of offshore wind power in the United States has structural weaknesses that make it significantly more expensive than European projects. TotalEnergies maintains that such investments could have had a negative impact on the electricity bills of American consumers.

Its CEO, Patrick Pouyanné, has explicitly stated that the development of these wind farms was not deemed to be in the country's best interest, leading to the decision to abandon the projects in exchange for the repayment of the concession fees initially paid, amounting to around a billion dollars. The company claims that there are other technologies capable of meeting the growing demand for electricity in the United States at a lower cost.

Reinvestment in gas and LNG

TotalEnergies has already planned to redirect recovered capital into fossil fuels and integrated power generation. This is a step backwards in the fight against climate change: these funds will indeed be reinvested in the development of oil and gas extraction activities, with a particular focus on the construction of the Rio Grande LNG plant.

According to the company, this strategy has two main objectives: to support gas production for American data centers, and to guarantee LNG deliveries to Europe, which urgently needs to diversify its energy supply sources. The Group also recently signed a letter of intent for the long-term purchase of 2 million tonnes of LNG per year from the Alaska LNG project.

A gas giant in the USA

Although the company's 'Integrated Power' strategy still claims 10 GW of installed capacity in the country, this shift highlights a setback in the offshore renewables segment. For the energy giant, natural gas remains the main source of profits: with nearly $12 billion invested since 2022, the company is establishing itself as one of the leading exporters of US LNG, with 19 million tons exported in 2025 alone.

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