TotalEnergies Exits US Offshore Wind Market in Favor of Gas

TotalEnergies SE said Monday it has executed settlement agreements with the United States Interior Department allowing the French company to surrender two offshore wind leases and thereby exit the U.S. offshore wind sector.

"Under the terms of the settlement, TotalEnergies will recover the lease fees paid and will invest an equal amount in the development of U.S. gas and power production and exports", TotalEnergies said in an online statement.

The decision follows the administration's crusade against offshore wind, under which Interior has issued several pause orders.

The leases held by TotalEnergies are Lease No. OCS-A 0535 in the Carolina Long Bay area and Lease No. OCS-A 0538 in the New York Bight Area.

"TotalEnergies’ studies on these leases have shown that offshore wind developments in the United States, unlike those in Europe, are costly and might have a negative impact on power affordability for U.S. consumers", the statement said.

TotalEnergies chair and chief executive Patrick Pouyanné said, "Considering that the development of offshore wind projects is not in the country's interest, we have decided to renounce offshore wind development in the United States, in exchange for the reimbursement of the lease fees".

“Furthermore, these agreements, under which we will reinvest the refunded lease fees to finance the construction of the 29 Mt Rio Grande LNG plant and the development of our oil and gas activities, allow us to support the development of U.S. gas production and export", Pouyanné  added.

"These investments will contribute to supplying Europe with much-needed LNG from the U.S. and provide gas for U.S. data center development. We believe this is a more efficient use of capital in the United States".

According to a separate statement on Monday by Interior, TotalEnergies' reinvestment amounts to around $1 billion.

"Following their new investment, the United States will reimburse the company dollar-for-dollar, up to the amount they paid in lease purchases for offshore wind", Interior said.

"Additionally, in light of the national security concerns, TotalEnergies has pledged not to develop any new offshore wind projects in the United States", Interior added.

On December 22, 2025 Interior suspended five offshore wind leases under construction for 90 days, citing security risks identified in "classified reports".

The leases were Dominion Energy Inc's 2,600-megawatt (MW) Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW), Ørsted A/S' 924-MW Sunrise Wind east of Long Island, Equinor ASA's 810-MW Empire Wind 1 south of Long Island, Iberdrola SA and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners' 800-MW Vineyard Wind 1 south of Martha's Vineyard, and Ørsted and Global Infrastructure Partners' 704-MW Revolution Wind off Rhode Island's southern coast.

Interior cited "recently completed classified reports" by the War Department. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in the statement, "Today's action addresses emerging national security risks, including the rapid evolution of the relevant adversary technologies, and the vulnerabilities created by large-scale offshore wind projects with proximity near our east coast population centers".

Interior said, "This pause will give the department, along with the Department of War and other relevant government agencies, time to work with leaseholders and state partners to assess the possibility of mitigating the national security risks posed by these projects".

"As for the national security risks inherent to large-scale offshore wind projects, unclassified reports from the U.S. government have long found that the movement of massive turbine blades and the highly reflective towers create radar interference called 'clutter'", Interior added. "The clutter caused by offshore wind projects obscures legitimate moving targets and generates false targets in the vicinity of the wind projects".

The companies responded by saying security concerns had already been addressed in the permit application process.

To contact the author, email jov.onsat@rigzone.com