RWE has reached a $1.22 billion deal with US offshore wind leases to cancel them and invest in gas
German energy company RWE announced on Thursday that they had reached an agreement with the Trump Administration to cancel three offshore leases for wind turbines in U.S. water and redirect the funds towards LNG and natural-gas power plant projects.
The administration has signed five deals this year in its effort to stop the development of U.S. off-shore wind projects that President Donald Trump views as expensive and ugly.
RWE, a leading offshore wind developer in the world, stopped working on its U.S. project last year because of the efforts by the administration to undermine the?industry. This included multiple orders to freeze multi-billion 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 United States in the near future." The company decided that this resolution best served the interests of their?stakeholders, and allowed it to direct its resources towards energy projects that could 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 pipeline of 15 natural-gas peaker plants in the U.S. The company didn't disclose who owned the LNG project or which turbine manufacturer. 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 leased?three offshore wind farms in U.S. water off the coasts?of New York, Louisiana, and California. The projects associated with the leases were in their very early stages and wouldn't have been online until 2030.
RWE paid $1.1billion for its 'lease' off the coasts of New York in a massive auction held by Biden's administration in 2022. The remaining leases totaled $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)
