The US buys back offshore wind licences from Total Energies, which in return promises to invest an equivalent amount in expanding its US natural gas activities. Donald Trump has found a way to get out of at least two offshore wind projects. The US government has reached an agreement with Total Energies to buy back the French company’s two offshore wind licences off New York and North Carolina for just under USD 1bn. Total Energies announced this on Monday afternoon. ”Total Energies is pleased to sign these settlement agreements with the DOI [Department of the Interior, ed.] and to support the government’s energy policy,” said CEO Patrick Pouyanné. ”As the development of offshore wind projects is not in the country’s interest, we have decided to abandon the development of offshore wind in the US in exchange for the reimbursement of the lease fees.” Four years ago, Total Energies paid USD 795m to win the licence for what has become the Attentive Energy development project off New Jersey, and USD 160m for the licence for Carolina Long Bay off the coast of North Carolina. However, this does not mean that the French company can simply transfer the money straight back into its account. The agreement has been concluded with the counter-condition that an equivalent amount is invested in developing US production and export of fossil energy, which is already by far Total Energies’ core business. Total Energies will thus use the money to finance the construction of the Rio Grande LNG plant with a capacity of 29Mt, as well as to further develop its oil and gas activities in the US. In addition, a letter of intent (LoI) has been signed with developer Glenfarne for a 20-year agreement to offtake 2m tons of LNG annually from the company’s planned Arctic facility in Alaska. ”These investments will help supply Europe with the much-needed LNG from the US and secure gas supply for the expansion of data centers in the US. We believe this is a more efficient use of capital in the US.” Total Energies, which has long insisted on being an energy company rather than an oil company, states that it has conducted studies showing that offshore wind in the US ”is expensive and may have a negative impact on the electricity price for US customers.” The settlement may offer a way out for the many other developers that hold offshore wind licences which, due to resistance from the US government, are not readily exploitable. Conversely, it may act as a barrier if such agreements can only be concluded on the condition that the money is committed to fossil investments, as chief analyst at Aegir Insights, Signe Sørensen, pointed out to EnergiWatch last week. ”Many of the developers will have no interest in reinvesting the money in the US, and they will likely have a good court case if they sue the government for termination on the wrong basis. Maybe their lease will still be terminated. But they should at least be able to sue to get all costs reimbursed – not just the original lease purchase amount, but also investments in developing the lease.” (This article has been translated from EnergyWatch’s Danish sister media EnergiWatch.dk) https://energywatch.com/EnergyNews/wind/article19141063.ece