California to sue Trump administration’s ‘unlawful’ offshore wind deal

California Attorney General Rob Bonta and California Energy Commission (CEC) Chair David Hochschild sent the Notice to the Department of the Interior (DOI) on 23 June 2026,noting that the ‘illegal agreement’ puts at risk California’s clean energy gains, thousands of high-quality jobs, and more than US$100M in public investments in the offshore wind industry, including voter-approved climate funds.

Under the agreement, they said, DOI illegally reallocated US$120M in federal taxpayer dollars to pay Golden State Wind, which is led by developer Ocean Winds, to abandon its offshore wind energy lease in federal waters off of California’s Central Coast. The deal with the Trump administration also requires Golden State Wind to invest an equal amount in out-of-state fossil-fuel projects that will do nothing to support California’s energy economy. 

In the Notice of Intent to Sue, California alleges that DOI’s buyout deal violates the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), which is supposed to ensure that California gets a say in the offshore wind leasing programme and prevent corrupt backroom deals. The Notice of Intent to Sue provides a 60-day window for DOI and Golden State Wind to cure the OCSLA violations before California files suit to put a stop to this unlawful buyout.  

“At a time when the country needs more reliable and sustainable power supply, the Trump administration is busy using taxpayer money to strike backroom buyouts that make clean-energy projects disappear,” said Attorney General Bonta.

“California won’t stand idly by as the Trump administration illegally strikes deals to kill offshore wind projects and replace them with more windfalls for his fossil fuel friends.

“California has already made substantial investments in clean wind energy that have advanced California’s clean energy goals, created high-quality jobs, and bolstered our economy. My office will continue to fight back aggressively against the Trump Administration’s illegal attacks on wind energy projects.

“California strongly condemns yet another reckless Trump Administration misuse of taxpayer dollars that undermines clean energy growth and U.S. energy security,” said Mr Hochschild. “California will continue to lead the way toward a cleaner, more reliable grid powered by domestic resources. Offshore wind remains an essential component of that work.” 

California’s offshore wind strategic plan calls for the state to develop 25 GW of offshore wind by 2045, enough to power roughly 25 million homes and provide about 13% of the state’s electricity supply.

In 2022, after a highly competitive auction for offshore wind energy leases, Golden State Wind paid US$120M to acquire an offshore wind lease in the Morro Bay Wind Energy Area off the Central California Coast for a 2GW offshore windfarm, with additional commitments of more than US$30M for workforce training, supply chain development and benefits to local communities like fishermen’s associations. 

On 27 April 2026, the DOI said it would terminate the lease in an agreement with Golden State Wind that purportedly ‘settles’ litigation that the state says Golden State Wind never brought, challenging action that DOI never took. 

California asserts that the cancellation of the Golden State Wind project will harm the state’s clean energy and climate goals and economy. Offshore wind is expected to play a role in this plan due to its potential to generate vast amounts of electricity from strong, consistent winds off California’s coast. 

The Notice of Intent to Sue is the next step in a multi-pronged action, California is taking to combat the Trump administration’s attacks on its offshore wind infrastructure. In May 2026, the CEC served an administrative investigative subpoena to Golden State Wind seeking documents and information related to the company’s buyout deal with DOI.

Following last week’s news that DOI entered into a similar buyout deal with Invenergy, CEC issued a similar administrative investigative subpoena to Invenergy on 23 June 2026. That subpoena demands a copy of the settlement agreement—which DOI has not made public—and information concerning its basis, negotiation, and impact.

According to the Department of the Interior, Invenergy has agreed to voluntarily relinquish four offshore wind leases, including the lease for its 2-GW project Morro Bay project, as well as leases off the Maine and New York coasts. In exchange, the Chicago-based energy company would receive a US$765M taxpayer funded payout from the federal government and make an equivalent investment in natural gas and geothermal projects. Nationwide, this brings the total amount of taxpayer funds spent by the Trump administration on offshore wind buyouts to nearly US$2.6Bn.