Trump spent nearly $4B to cancel offshore wind lease
What's the story
The Trump administration is paying German utility company RWE a whopping $1.2 billion to cancel an offshore wind lease. The proposed wind farms were supposed to be located off the coast of California, Louisiana, and New York. Instead of going ahead with these plans, RWE will now invest $900 million in a minor stake in a Louisiana liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal.
Strategic shifts
RWE will invest in natural gas turbines
The New York wind farm was expected to generate over 3 gigawatts of power, according to Heatmap News.
However, instead of these projects, RWE will now invest the remaining $300 million in natural gas turbines for 15 peaking power plants across the US.
These peaking power plants are among the most expensive and polluting natural gas facilities to operate.
The Trump administration has already paid a whopping $3.93 billion for 12 leases it has convinced developers to abandon so far.
Continued commitment
RWE continues to invest in offshore wind elsewhere
Despite the cancellation of US-based projects, RWE remains committed to its offshore wind investments in other countries.
The company recently acquired 6.9 gigawatts of capacity in a recent auction held in the UK.
This shows that while it is scaling back on certain projects under the Trump administration, it is still investing heavily in renewable energy elsewhere.