Trump Tries To Bribe Away His Offshore Wind Demons

The article discusses former President Donald Trump's efforts to halt offshore wind energy projects in the Atlantic Ocean, focusing on two leases held by the French company TotalEnergies. These leases, awarded through competitive auctions in 2022, cover large areas off the coasts of New York (the New York Bight) and the Carolinas, with a combined potential capacity of approximately 4.3 gigawatts of offshore wind power. TotalEnergies has no immediate plans to develop turbines on these sites while Trump remains in office. The projects promise significant cost savings for local electricity ratepayers, as offshore wind can mitigate price spikes in natural gas and other energy sources. Despite judicial rulings limiting Trump's ability to halt projects already underway, he has pursued a settlement to cancel these two leases. Under the proposed agreement reported by The New York Times, the U.S. Interior Department would cancel the leases, and the Justice Department would pay TotalEnergies over $928 million to reimburse their winning bids. In exchange,