HOLD-RWE has announced a $1.22 billion deal to cancel US off-shore wind leases and to invest in gas
German energy company RWE announced on Thursday that it had reached an agreement with the Trump Administration to cancel three offshore leases in U.S. water and direct the money to LNG and gas power plant projects.
This is the fifth deal the Administration has made this year in its effort to stop the development of U.S. Offshore Wind Projects, which are?U.S. Donald Trump views the project as expensive and ugly.
RWE, a world-leading offshore wind developer, stopped work on its U.S. project last year because of the administration's attempts to undermine the industry. This included several orders to "freeze" multibillion dollar projects that were under construction.
The company stated in a press release that "after careful consideration it was determined that there is no way forward for these projects to be permitted in the U.S. in the near future." The company decided that this resolution serves its stakeholders' interests and allows them to direct resources towards energy projects which can be advanced with certainty.
RWE announced that it would invest $900 million in order to purchase a 16.6% stake of a Louisiana LNG Project. The company also placed a $300-million turbine order to power its 15 natural gas peaker plant pipelines across the U.S. The company didn't disclose who owned the LNG project or which turbine manufacturer. The Woodside Energy Group, based in Australia, is building a Louisiana LNG Terminal.
It was not possible to reach the Interior Department for comment immediately.
The company has three offshore wind leases off the coasts New York, Louisiana, and California. The projects associated with the leases were in the very early stages and wouldn't have been online until 2030s.
RWE paid $1.1billion for its lease near the coast of New York in a massive auction by the Biden administration in 2022. The remaining leases cost $163 million.
The administration, excluding the RWE deal, has cancelled nine federal leases this year, totaling $2.7 billion. Ocean Winds is a partnership between Portugal's EDP Renewables, and France's ENGIE.
In May, a group of 50 U.S.-based environmental groups wrote to RWE CEO Markus Krebber to ask him to avoid a similar agreement. (Reporting and editing by Nichola Grroom)
(source: Reuters)
