The Trump administration has reached a deal with German energy company RWE to cancel offshore wind leases near New York, California, and Louisiana, redirecting funds to fossil fuel investments. The agreement is worth over $1.2 billion, drawn from the Department of the Interior using taxpayer dollars. This is the fifth such deal, bringing total government payouts to around $4 billion to abandon renewable projects.

As part of the deal, RWE will spend $900 million to acquire a 16% stake in a Louisiana LNG project run by Australian company Woodside Energy, which has praised the administration's support for the fossil fuel industry. RWE also signed a $300 million agreement to develop 15 natural gas peaker plants. The company originally bought the New York lease under Biden for $1.1 billion and the California and Louisiana leases for $163 million.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgham praised RWE's "voluntary investment" in energy security. Critics note LNG facilities have violated pollution limits, and Trump has long railed against wind turbines, claiming they cause cancer and kill whales. His opposition stems from a court battle over a wind farm near his Scottish golf course, which he lost. The administration has also spent $1.1 billion to boost coal projects.