Trump administration pays to kill-off another US offshore wind lease 

In a statement, the Department of the Interior said the company would be paid US$129M and would reinvest that amount in additional generating capacity.

The statement said the agreement “provides partial reimbursement for an offshore wind lease that was very early stage.” Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said Duke Energy will convert what he claimed was “national security concern” into other projects. The Trump administration has several times claimed that offshore wind projects are a national security concern, without providing any evidence.

Duke Energy said it would reinvest the US$129M in additional generating capacity, “which may include advancing new nuclear and natural gas generation, and grid enhancements to strengthen reliability.”

Responding to the latest agreement to terminate an offshore wind lease, the Sierra Club noted northeast states and California have filed lawsuits in recent weeks against the federal government for similar agreements.

“These are the latest Trump attacks on offshore wind after repeatedly losing in court, going zero for five in federal court after trying to halt offshore wind projects that were under construction,” said the Sierra Club.

North Carolina Sierra Club chapter director Chris Herndon said, “Duke Energy and Donald Trump are worsening the energy affordability crisis plaguing North Carolina families and small businesses.

“It is a disgrace that Duke Energy would walk away from an affordable, reliable offshore wind project that our state was counting on to create family-sustaining wages for workers and fixed-price clean electricity to power our state’s economy. We urge Attorney General Jeff Jackson to review the legality of this deal and consider joining other states in challenging the Trump administration in court.”