Interior in $765M offshore wind buy-out deal with Invenergy

Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum: "We applaud Invenergy for recognizing the importance of baseload power and investing in energy solutions that deliver real benefits to American consumers.”

The U.S. Department of the Interior has agreed to pay Invenergy $765 million in return for terminating its affiliates’ four offshore wind leases located in the New York Bight, Central Coast of California and the Gulf of Maine. Invenergy will redirect that amount towards other domestic energy sourcesthat including the development of natural gas-fired power plants in Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri and geothermal power generation projects in the Western U.S.

The Department of Interior say the settlement agreements provide partial reimbursement for offshore wind leases that required significant taxpayer support.

The deal with Invenergy has strong similarities to the $928.3M agreement with TotalEnergies announced in March that is now facing a court challenge from the attorneys general of seven states.

“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,” said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. “Under President Trump, companies are shifting investment back toward dependable, secure energy infrastructure that can power our economy and lower utility costs. We applaud Invenergy for recognizing the importance of baseload power and investing in energy solutions that deliver real benefits to American consumers.”

“At a time of unprecedented energy demand, Invenergy is focused on delivering reliable, affordable energy for our customers and supporting disciplined investment at scale,“ said Daniel Runyan, Invenergy’s senior vice president for development. “That is why Invenergy, with our affiliates and on behalf of our various stakeholders, will deploy additional capital into projects that can be delivered on a commercially reasonable timeline and meet customer demand while continuing to evaluate opportunities as market conditions evolve.“

The BlueGreen Alliance (BGA), which unifies labor unions and environmental organizations to fight climate change, says that, under this deal, the cancellation would be purchased through the Judgment Fund, a reserve of taxpayer dollars overseen by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Treasury Department. This brings the total amount the Trump administration has agreed to pay to cancel offshore wind leases to more than $2.5 billion to date.

Following the announcement, the BlueGreen Alliance released this statement from Katie Harris its vice president of federal affairs:

“For a president who prides himself on being a titan for the working class, Trump is willing to spend billions of our taxpayer dollars to cancel projects that could be bringing new jobs, a cleaner environment, and lower utility bills up and down our coasts. The administration continues to waste time and taxpayers’ money on an irrational vendetta against clean energy.”