California sues Trump administration over offshore wind lease cancelation

Aug 28 (Reuters) – California on Friday sued the Trump administration and an offshore wind developer over a deal that canceled a planned project off the state’s Central ​Coast in exchange for a $120 million federal reimbursement and a commitment ‌to invest in fossil fuel projects.

• California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the northern district of California against the U.S. Department of the Interior ​and Golden State Wind, arguing the April agreement violated federal law and should ​be invalidated.

• The state said Interior unlawfully used $120 million in taxpayer funds ⁠to reimburse Golden State Wind for relinquishing an offshore wind lease it ​purchased in a 2022 federal auction. Golden State Wind is a joint venture between ​Ocean Winds, a partnership between France’s ENGIE and Portugal’s EDP Renewables, and Reventus Power, a London-based offshore wind investment firm.

• Golden State Wind was planning a 2-gigawatt floating offshore wind project ​off California’s central coast and had pledged more than $30 million for workforce training, ​supply-chain development and community benefits, according to the complaint.

• California said the cancellation threatens thousands of ‌jobs ⁠and more than $100 million in state investments tied to offshore wind development, including port upgrades, transmission planning and supply-chain projects.

• The lawsuit alleges the agreement violates the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and the federal Judgment Fund Act because the payment ​was not tied ​to an actual ⁠lawsuit.
• An Interior Department spokesperson said the agency would not comment on ongoing litigation, but said the agreement was approved by ​the Department of Justice and went through appropriate channels.

• California first ​threatened the ⁠lawsuit in June, saying the lease buyout could set back the state’s offshore wind industry by years and undermine plans to develop 25 gigawatts of offshore wind ⁠capacity by ​2045.

• The Trump administration has reached similar agreements with ​other offshore wind developers, including TotalEnergies and Invenergy, requiring investments in conventional energy projects in exchange for ​terminating offshore wind leases.

• Ocean Winds was not immediately available for comment.