Seven US states, led by New York, have filed a joint lawsuit against the Trump administration and French energy corporation TotalEnergies. The legal challenge follows the federal government’s decision to cancel a major offshore wind lease off the New York coast in exchange for commitments from the energy firm to invest in fossil fuel initiatives.
The lawsuit, filed in the Washington, D.C. federal court, contests a 23 March decision by the US Department of the Interior to cancel a lease held by a subsidiary of TotalEnergies. Under the terms of that agreement, the federal government agreed to reimburse $795 million to the company, whilst extracting a pledge that TotalEnergies would not develop new offshore wind projects within the United States. Concurrently, the French firm agreed to allocate nearly $1 billion towards a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Texas and domestic oil and gas drilling operations.
The coalition of states alleges that the administration bypassed proper administrative processes and misused a government fund reserved strictly for legal settlements, noting that no active litigation existed between the federal government and TotalEnergies prior to the agreement.
The strategy aligns with the administration’s broader policy objectives to halt domestic offshore wind development in favour of boosting conventional fossil fuel production and rolling back clean energy policies.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul criticised the arrangement, describing it as a scheme that uses taxpayer funds to pressure a foreign company into abandoning planned renewable energy infrastructure in favour of oil and gas extraction.
The cancelled project, known as Attentive Energy, was projected to generate sufficient electricity to power approximately 1.3 million homes across New York and New Jersey. Both states have established statutory frameworks relying heavily on offshore wind capacity to meet rising grid demands and lower regional greenhouse gas emissions.
The multi-state litigation includes New Jersey, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont alongside New York.
