Moderate New York Republicans are condemning a reported Trump administration proposal to stifle offshore wind by paying a company not to build projects off the East Coast.
White House officials are said to be considering settlement agreements that would pay TotalEnergies nearly $1 billion to abandon two offshore wind projects off New York and North Carolina, according to reporting from The New York Times.
President Donald Trump has vowed to stop wind projects, and many Hill Republicans have followed his lead. But when asked whether the reported settlement would be a good idea, a couple of moderate New Yorkers sharply criticized the concept.
“It sounds like a colossal waste of taxpayer money,” said Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.).
Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.), who has previously criticized White House efforts to curb offshore wind, added: “Energy security is national security. Why would we pay a billion dollars to a foreign company and not produce the energy at home?”
Under the terms reported by The Times, the Interior Department would cancel leases for the two wind farms — Attentive Energy and Carolina Long Bay — after reimbursing Total more than $928 million for leases purchased during the Biden administration. Interior and White House aides did not return requests for comment.
Senate Environment and Public Works Chair Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), who had halted negotiations on permitting legislation because of administration stop-work orders against five offshore wind projects, said the report was proof of the administration being beholden to fossil fuels.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called the proposal a “corrupt giveaway to the fossil fuel industry.”
“After failing five times in federal court, President Trump is now ludicrously proposing to waste $1 billion in taxpayer money to kill a wind farm off the coast of New York that would boost energy supply, help lower costs and create thousands of good-paying union jobs,” he said.
In recent days, the administration has opted not to appeal rulings against the stop-work orders. But Trump himself said earlier this week he wants “no windmills built in the United States.”
“I’m proudly telling you that we’re going to try and have no windmills built in the United States,” Trump said. “They’re very bad environmentally.”
Malliotakis said the administration should at least leave advanced projects alone. “The administration should, and hopefully already are, weighing the opportunity cost to see if it’s better to just reconsider grandfathering in those projects already underway,” Malliotakis said.
Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.), who’s a member of the Offshore Wind Caucus, said he was only vaguely familiar with the reported deal but said he was “interested in analyzing and scrutinizing it.”
Adding that he’s an “all-of-the-above” energy Republican, LaLota said nearly completed offshore wind projects should be allowed to proceed.
“Let’s get that power online,” he said. “Most of the investment has been made. Let’s get the return on the investment. And we’ll analyze and scrutinize the newly proposed projects with a sharp pencil to ensure that — certainly if taxpayers’ money is at stake — that we’re getting the right [return on investment].”
