Maine Public | By Peter McGuire Published June 18, 2026 at 3:53 PM EDT
Energy giant Invenergy will abandon two of its offshore wind power projects in the Gulf of Maine as part of a $765 million deal with the Trump administration to invest in fossil fuel power plants instead.
Under the arrangement, Chicago-based Invenergy will give up offshore leases in California, New York and Massachusetts. The lease payments will instead be redirected to building natural gas power plants in Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri and a geothermal generation project in the American west, according to the U.S. Department of Interior.
In a statement, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said companies were shifting investment back to dependable energy infrastructure. President Donald Trump is openly hostile to offshore wind power and his administration is pro-fossil fuel energy.
"The offshore wind leases were sold under the assumptions that taxpayers would indefinitely subsidize costly, unreliable projects and that no national security concerns were implicated — both assumptions have since been proven false," Burgum said.
In an Invenergy statement, the company said U.S. demand for electricity is expected to grow 20-40% over the next decade and it was dropping its offshore wind plans to receive a partial lease refund it can deploy for conventional generators.
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Trump deal scraps two Gulf of Maine wind energy leases
by Long Islander
12 hours ago
Maine Public | By Peter McGuire
Published June 18, 2026 at 3:53 PM EDT
Energy giant Invenergy will abandon two of its offshore wind power projects in the Gulf of Maine as part of a $765 million deal with the Trump administration to invest in fossil fuel power plants instead.
Under the arrangement, Chicago-based Invenergy will give up offshore leases in California, New York and Massachusetts. The lease payments will instead be redirected to building natural gas power plants in Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri and a geothermal generation project in the American west, according to the U.S. Department of Interior.
In a statement, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said companies were shifting investment back to dependable energy infrastructure. President Donald Trump is openly hostile to offshore wind power and his administration is pro-fossil fuel energy.
"The offshore wind leases were sold under the assumptions that taxpayers would indefinitely subsidize costly, unreliable projects and that no national security concerns were implicated — both assumptions have since been proven false," Burgum said.
In an Invenergy statement, the company said U.S. demand for electricity is expected to grow 20-40% over the next decade and it was dropping its offshore wind plans to receive a partial lease refund it can deploy for conventional generators.
Continue reading at https://www.mainepublic.org/climate/2026-06-18/trump-deal-scraps-two-gulf-of-maine-wind-energy-leases
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Fair Use Notice: This website may reproduce or have links to copyrighted material the use of which has not been expressly authorized by the copyright owner. We make such material available, without profit, as part of our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, economic, scientific, and related issues. It is our understanding that this constitutes a "fair use" of any such copyrighted material as provided by law. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes that go beyond "fair use," you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.