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Another offshore wind company cancels Morro Bay project in deal with Trump. Updated June 18, 2026 9:50 AM Another offshore wind company has canceled its plans to deploy turbines off Morro Bay. Invenergy, which owns the Even Keel Wind project, agreed to end its lease in the Morro Bay Wind Energy Area, the company announced on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Invenergy will terminate its three other offshore wind projects in the New York Bight and the Gulf of Maine, and instead redirect $765 million from those projects to other domestic energy sources, the U.S. Department of Interior said in a news release. As part of the deal, Invenergy can recover "partial reimbursement" for those leases, the news release said without disclosing the amount. Now, Invenergy will instead invest in domestic natural gas-fired projects in Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri and geothermal power generation projects in the western United States, the company said in a news release. "At a time of unprecedented energy demand, Invenergy is focused on delivering reliable, affordable energy for our customers and supporting disciplined investment at scale," Invenergy senior vice president of development Daniel Runyan said. "That is why Invenergy, with our affiliates and on behalf of our various stakeholders, will deploy additional capital into projects that can be delivered on a commercially reasonable timeline and meet customer demand while continuing to evaluate opportunities as market conditions evolve." In April, the U.S. Department of Interior offered a total of $885 million to two other offshore wind companies - Golden State Wind on the West Coast and Bluepoint Wind on the East Coast - to terminate their leases. Both accepted. Now, there's only one leaseholder remaining in Morro Bay: Equinor. "President Trump is committed to unleashing affordable, reliable American energy for our country's communities and putting the American people first through common-sense action," Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said in a news release on Wednesday. "The offshore wind leases were sold under the assumptions that taxpayers would indefinitely subsidize costly, unreliable projects and that no national security concerns were implicated - both assumptions have since been proven false. "Under President Trump, companies are shifting investment back toward dependable, secure energy infrastructure that can power our economy and lower utility costs," he added. "We applaud Invenergy for recognizing the importance of baseload power and investing in energy solutions that deliver real benefits to American consumers." U.S. Senator Adam Schiff, however, condemned the decision. "As Americans pay more and more for energy, the Trump administration is once again paying millions in taxpayer dollars to kill California energy projects," he said in a statement. "Expect another hike in your utility bills, courtesy of Donald Trump. And another win for the oil industry." Environment June 17, 2026 9:00 AM June 17, 2026 3:00 PM The Tribune Stephanie Zappelli is the environment and immigration reporter for The Tribune. Born and raised in San Diego, they graduated from Cal Poly with a journalism degree. When not writing, they enjoy playing guitar, reading and exploring the outdoors.

Feds to pay $765M to scrap four more offshore wind leases. By Reuters Reuters June 17, 2026 11:49 PM Gift Article The Trump administration on Wednesday said it would pay $765 million to power project developer Invenergy to terminate four wind leases off the coasts of New York, California and Maine. The Department of the Interior said in a statement that Invenergy will use those funds to develop natural gas power plants in five Midwestern states and geothermal projects in the Western United States. The deal is the latest of several the administration has announced this year as part of a wide-ranging effort to stop development of U.S. offshore wind projects, which it regards as costly and inefficient. President Donald Trump's administration has sought to increase domestic fossil fuel production and scrapped policies that support clean energy development, which has been criticized by Democrats and industry advocates. "We applaud Invenergy for recognizing the importance of baseload power and investing in energy solutions that deliver real benefits to American consumers," Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement. Seven U.S. states sued the administration earlier this month over a nearly $800 million payment to France's TotalEnergies to cancel an offshore wind lease off the coast of New York. The states alleged the administration failed to follow proper administrative processes and misused a government fund reserved for legal settlements even though there was no litigation between the parties. An Interior Department spokesperson said the agreement had been reviewed by the Department of Justice and went through all appropriate channels. Invenergy did not comment on the legality of the settlement. Stanley Woodward, associate attorney general with the Department of Justice, said in the statement that the agency looked forward "to continued cooperation from companies that are reevaluating their energy investments." Invenergy will invest a portion of the $765 million in natural gas plants in Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri, according to the announcement. The company's offshore wind leases included two in the Gulf of Maine and one each off the coasts of New York and California. All four were in early stages of development, according to a source familiar with the company, who said it had not ruled out getting back into the industry at a future date. In Interior's statement, Invenergy's senior vice president for development, Daniel Runyan, said the Chicago-based company would "deploy additional capital into projects that can be delivered on a commercially reasonable timeline and meet customer demand while continuing to evaluate opportunities as market conditions evolve." An offshore wind industry group, Turn Forward, said the agreement would cancel much-needed electricity capacity at a time of soaring demand. "Replacing coastal offshore wind with geothermal or natural gas infrastructure in another region does nothing to address rising ratepayer affordability concerns, reliability challenges or potential gaps in power supply in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic," Hillary Bright, executive director of Turn Forward, said in a statement.

White House buys out more offshore wind leases, bringing total cost to $2.5 billion. Jun 17, 2026 at 02:59 PM PDT Full story. The U.S. government will pay Invenergy $765 million to abandon its plans to build offshore wind farms off the coasts of California, New York and Maine. The deal marks the fourth time the Trump administration has paid to prevent development of an offshore wind area while seeking to redirect investment to oil and gas. The administration's push to re-allocate energy investment has faced court challenges and heightened the debate over what's driving increased electricity prices. Download the SAN app today to stay up-to-date with Unbiased. Straight Facts(TM). Point phone camera here In March, the Interior Department announced a $928 million payment to France-based TotalEnergies for the company to relinquish two offshore leases on the Atlantic coast. As part of the deal, the French company would invest that money back into U.S. oil and gas production and the expansion of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal in Texas. Two more deals came in April. A company backed by the private equity giant BlackRock, Bluepoint Wind, accepted $765 million to shift funding from offshore wind leases to LNG. California-based Golden State Wind gave up its offshore wind lease on California's Central Coast for $120 million. The Interior Department said Golden State would invest in other energy infrastructure, though the exact type was not specified. The total amount paid to private industry to walk away from offshore wind projects now sits at more than $2.5 billion. What is the Trump administration saying? The $765 million deal with Chicago-based power company Invenergy will see the company invest the money into natural gas-fired power plants in Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri and Wisconsin, according to the Interior Department. Specific details of those investments were not disclosed in the announcement, but the Interior Department also said Invenergy will use the funds to develop geothermal power sources across the Western U.S. In April, Invenergy announced a 918-megawatt natural gas power plant in Indiana. The company is also developing a 324-megawatt plant in Wisconsin. However, both of these projects were already underway before the Interior Department deal was unveiled. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said offshore wind is too costly and would require taxpayer subsidies. "Companies are shifting investment back toward dependable, secure energy infrastructure that can power our economy and lower utility costs," Burgum said in a press release. Why are offshore wind lease deals controversial? The impact on electricity bills is highly disputed. Critics of the Trump administration's approach have argued that offshore wind development can help keep electricity prices low and improve grid reliability. Seven states are already challenging the TotalEnergies deal in court, arguing that the originally planned offshore wind farms would have powered 1.3 million homes. The latest deal has already drawn pushback from the renewable energy industry. "Replacing coastal offshore wind with geothermal or natural gas infrastructure in another region does nothing to address rising ratepayer affordability concerns, reliability challenges or potential gaps in power supply in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic," Hillary Bright, executive director of the offshore wind group Turn Forward, said in a statement. Shifting investments from wind energy to LNG exports has been especially contentious because sending gas overseas competes with the domestic market, creating upward pressure on electricity bills. The severity of that trend is a subject of debate, but even the U.S. government has acknowledged LNG exports as a factor in elevated natural gas prices. "Higher natural gas prices in 2025 and 2026 are the result of strong export growth that persistently outpaces U.S. natural gas production," the U.S. Energy Information Administration wrote in a short-term energy outlook report last year. Round out your reading. * Could a common dietary supplement accelerate Alzheimer's? * NY AG Letitia James gets hundreds of taunts, racial slurs in ICE public reporting portal. * As Musk becomes the first trillionaire, historian sees warning signs. * An experimental weight loss drug is so effective, many Americans don't care it's not FDA approved. * How search engine optimization reduced Simone Biles to an 'NFL wife'. Keaton is an energy reporter for Straight Arrow based in Austin, Texas. He focuses on affordability and economic impacts in coverage of energy policy, how data centers are reshaping the grid, and market shifts for oil, gas and renewables.