State attorneys general argue $1bn deal to terminate major offshore wind lease off the coast of New York is unlawful
Seven states sued the Trump administration on Tuesday over its decision to cancel a major offshore wind lease off the coast of New York.
In March, federal officials announced they would pay nearly $1bn in taxpayer dollars to French energy firm TotalEnergies in exchange for the company killing plans to erect two offshore windfarms off New York and North Carolina. TotalEnergies agreed to terminate the projects and pledged not to develop any new offshore wind projects in the United States, while investing hundreds of millions of dollars in oil and gas projects.
The deal was unlawful, says the lawsuit, led by Letitia James, New York’s attorney general.
“The Trump administration is once again trying to kill clean energy projects and destroy good-paying jobs for New Yorkers,” she said in a statement to the Guardian.
The administration’s agreement with TotalEnergies came after federal judges repeatedly struck down the president’s executive orders and stop-work directives which aimed to halt offshore wind development, ruling them unlawful and arbitrary.
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