Not Good for the Environment

Is the Trump administration working to support fossil fuels over renewable energy sources?  Since January 2026, the administration has made five agreements with energy firms to move from renewable energy investments to spending on fossil fuels. 

The Deals

The most recent involved RWE, an international energy consortium.  RWE was paid $1.22 billion for an offshore wind lease cancellation deal.   Payment came from the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), acting under the Trump administration, and was funded with public taxpayer money.  According to the agreement, the payment was intended to resolve RWE’s legal claims and provide funds to cover most of the company’s original lease costs.  (RWE had paid about $1.1 billion for its New York lease in a 2022 auction and an additional $163 million for leases in Louisiana and California.)  The settlement was structured as a refund-like payment to “walk away” from the leases, with the condition that RWE redirect those funds toward fossil fuel projects. (The Guardian, August 6, 2026)

In practice, RWE used $900 million of the settlement to acquire a 16% stake in a Louisiana liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal and $300 million to secure a reservation for 15 natural gas peaker plants across the U.S.  This meant the “$1 billion” was not a subsidy for wind power but a payout to a foreign energy company to abandon U.S. offshore wind projects and invest in gas instead. (The Guardian)

The deal was the fifth such agreement the Trump administration has made with energy firms in 2026, bringing the total taxpayer-funded cancellations to nearly $4 billion. The funds came from federal budgets allocated to the Interior Department, which negotiated and executed the settlements.

The other four deals include:

1. TotalEnergies:  –This French energy company agreed to cancel offshore wind leases in the New York Bight and Carolina Long Bay, and redirect about $1 billion toward U.S. oil, natural gas, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) production. (U.S. Department of the Interior}
2. Invenergy : – One of our nation’s largest privately held energy infrastructure developers. Invenergy relinquished three offshore wind leases (New York Bight, California Central Coast, Gulf of Maine) and committed to invest $765 million in natural gas-fired power plants and geothermal projects across multiple states.  (EnerKnol, June 18, 2026)
3. Bluepoint Wind: – Bluepoint is a joint venture that agreed to terminate offshore wind leases off New York and California, with the DOI reimbursing up to $765 million if the company invests a comparable amount in qualifying U.S. conventional energy projects. (The Register, April 28, 2026)
4. Golden State Wind:  Golden State is another joint venture between Ocean Winds (ENGIE/EDP Renewables) and Reventus Power (Canada Pension Plan Investment Board), which committed to invest up to $120 million in U.S. oil, gas, energy infrastructure, or LNG projects along the Gulf Coast in exchange for lease termination and reimbursement.  (The Hill, April 27)

These deals, totaling roughly $2.6 billion in 2026, marked a significant policy shift away from offshore wind development and toward fossil fuel and geothermal energy projects, with the DOI framing them as investments in “affordable, reliable, secure” energy infrastructure. (EnerKnol and The Hill)

Legal Basis

 The Department of the Interior’s (DOI) actions to fast-track fossil fuel projects and reduce support for sustainable energy are grounded in a combination of executive orders, statutory authorities, and legislative directives.

On April 23, 2025, DOI released “alternative arrangements for National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance” under President Trump’s Executive Order 14156.  This order declared a “national energy emergency” and directed agencies to use all available emergency powers to stimulate domestic energy production.   This order allows DOI to compress environmental reviews under NEPA, the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) into as little as 14–28 days.  This action bypasses the normal public comment periods. (Environmental & Energy Law, Harvard Law School)  

Then on August 1, 2025, Secretary Doug Burgum issued a Secretary’s Order that redefines how renewable projects are evaluated on federal lands. It prioritizes energy sources with higher “capacity density” (e.g., nuclear, gas) over wind and solar.  It requires the DOI to consider “reasonable alternatives” to proposed projects. (Enverus) Burgum’s order aligns with the Trump’s broader “energy dominance” policy.

Congress also played a role in the shift from renewable energy to fossil fuels.  The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed in 2025, directs DOI and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to expand leasing for oil, gas, and coal, reduce royalty rates, shorten public comment periods, and reintroduce noncompetitive leasing. (Harvard Law School) It also rescinds conservation rules that had restricted certain land uses, effectively opening more federal land for extractive energy.

The impact of the Trump energy policy also impacts many American citizens and renewable energy manufacturing companies.  On July 7, 2025, President Trump’s executive order directed the Treasury Department to terminate Section 45Y and 48E tax credits for clean electricity production and investment.  A few days later, the DOI’s July 15, 2025 memorandum ended “preferential treatment” for wind and solar projects involving federal lands, requiring all such projects to undergo a three-tiered internal review by the Office of the Secretary. (JD Supra, July 29, 2025)

Summary

DOI’s shift is legally justified under the National Energy Emergency framework, NEPA emergency provisions, FLPMA land-use authority, and legislative mandates like the OBBBA, all operating within the broader executive policy set by President Trump for prioritizing fossil fuels and reducing renewable energy support.   Can there be any doubt that our President has no grasp of the global warming crisis or likely he just doesn’t care!