Wind power at sea: the United States abandons two new major projects involving Engie

This decision is a new illustration of the US government’s policy openly opposing the development of new offshore wind capacities in the United States.

The Trump administration continues its battle against renewable energies and announced on Monday, April 27, the abandonment of two major offshore wind projects, involving the French company Engie. This announcement from the US Department of the Interior comes one month after TotalEnergies withdrew from two wind farm contracts. In total, the four agreements were expected to power around 3.6 million households with electricity.

The first decision announced on Monday concerns Bluepoint Wind, planned off the coasts of New Jersey and New York to meet the needs of approximately one million households.

The consortium around Bluepoint Wind includes the

French company Engie

, the

Portuguese EDP Renewables

, and

the American investment company Global Infrastructure Partners

(GIP), a BlackRock subsidiary.

The Department also mentioned the end of the Golden State Wind program, off the coast of California, which was set to provide electricity to around 1.1 million households.

Engie and EDP Renewables

were also involved in this consortium through their joint venture Ocean Winds, associated with the investment company

Reventus Power

.

This decision is another example of the US government’s policy openly opposing the development of new offshore wind capacities in the United States. It particularly targets offshore wind, which often requires federal approval.

At the end of March, TotalEnergies and the Trump administration had already signed an agreement finalizing the closure of two offshore wind projects, off the coast of New York and North Carolina. As part of the deal with the US government,

TotalEnergies also agreed to redirect the $928 million recovered from its two wind fields towards LNG sites

(liquefied natural gas).

Reinvestments in hydrocarbons

The partners of Bluepoint Wind will also be fully reimbursed for the amounts they had invested in the project, totaling

$765 million

so far. Additionally, GIP has pledged to make investments of up to $765 million in an LNG terminal.

In the case of Golden State Wind, the amounts invested reached $120 million and will also be refunded, provided that the project stakeholders commit to financing equivalent amounts for gas and oil infrastructure in the United States.

Contacted by

AFP

, Engie highlighted that both Bluepoint Wind and Golden State Wind were still

“in an early stage of development”

, with delivery expected in 2033 for Bluepoint and during the 2030s for Golden State. Through its joint venture Ocean Winds, Engie “remains fully committed to offshore wind development, mainly in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.”

Apart from the four projects that were abandoned, the US president, a climate skeptic and supporter of the oil sector, tried to block the five most advanced projects in the US in the name of national security, without success at this stage. Federal courts allowed their continuation. Two of them, off the coast of Rhode Island (Revolution Wind) and Massachusetts (Vineyard Wind), have been completed and connected to the grid. On Monday, the services of the Democratic governor of Massachusetts, Maura Healey, announced negotiations with Vineyard Wind for a tariff that is expected to save $1.4 billion over 20 years for the installation’s customers.

Other projects in focus

Among the criticisms of wind energy by Donald Trump are that it is

“the most expensive energy” and “only (works) with massive subsidies”

, allegations reiterated on Monday by Interior Minister Doug Burgum.

Several studies have shown that wind energy in the US is, on average, cheaper than several other sources, especially coal, excluding public assistance.

As for the question of the comparative impact of each energy source on the environment, it was dismissed by the Trump administration.

“President Trump deprives (the US) of energy sources and drives up prices with his war against Iran,” said Maura Healey. “We should focus more on wind to lower costs, create jobs, and make our country more energy independent.”

The construction of the three other projects continues, namely Sunrise Wind in Massachusetts, Empire Wind off New York, and Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind in Virginia. The latter started producing electricity in March.