Trump despises wind farms so much he’ll pay French energy giant $1 billion to stop building them

In a so-called « landmark agreement » announced March 23 between TotalEnergies and the U.S. Department of the Interior, the federal government will reimburse the French energy giant about $928 million for its investments in Attentive Energy and Carolina Long Bay offshore projects in New York and North Carolina that the company suspended after the election of President Donald Trump.

Speaking at the CERAWeek by S&P Global event in Houston, TotalEnergies Chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanné said he does not want to file lawsuits but to make pragmatic solutions.

While TotalEnergies will continue to pursue onshore wind, solar and battery storage projects in the U.S., he said the company is abandoning offshore wind power, which is now considered too large and expensive without federal subsidies in the U.S.

« It’s good to be innovative from time to time and pragmatic, » Pouyanné said. « We can recycle that money… into smarter investments. »

President Trump has opposed the spread of both wind and solar energy in the United States — favoring fossil fuels instead — but he has particular disdain for huge offshore wind turbines, which he considers unsightly.

TotalEnergies is also a major player in the natural gas sector in the United States, particularly in the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG). The agreement with the Department of the Interior, while few details, specifically mentions the companies’ additional investments in Houston-based NextDecade’s Rio Grande LNG project in South Texas, as well as natural gas production investments in the Gulf of Mexico and US shale drilling.

TotalEnergies is both a 17% shareholder of NextDecade and a major customer for the gas export of the Rio Grande LNG project. TotalEnergies also owns always Energy’s Cameron LNG in Louisiana and an investor in Glenfarne’s planned Alaska LNG.

Speaking to Pouyanné, US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said TotalEnergies is investing in more reliable natural gas projects rather than « intermittent » wind farms. « We are not driven by climate fantasy, » Burgum said.

« They (TotalEnergies) thought there was going to be a bunch of subsidies, » Burgum said, referring to the end of subsidies for wind and solar projects in Trump’s « One Big Beautiful Bill » passed last year.