EnergyOMNI's Perspectives｜Trump Administration Scraps Offshore Wind As California Prepares Lawsuit

Edited by EnergyOMNI

After President Donald Trump was sworn into office in January 2025, his administration reversed a number of policies introduced under former President Joe Biden. The new administration criticized renewable energy, doubled down on fossil fuels, and promoted an "energy dominance" agenda. The offshore wind industry became one of the hardest-hit sectors, although several U.S. states have continued to pursue offshore wind development.

According to the "Offshore Wind Targets Underpin Acceleration to 2030 and Beyond" report published by the UK-based energy think tank Ember in October 2025, eleven U.S. states currently have state-level offshore wind targets. Among them, four have set targets for deployment before 2030, while most have established medium-term goals for 2031–2040. Despite President Trump's return to office, none of these state-level targets has been revised.

United States states offshore wind target

Source: Ember

California remains one of the states actively advancing offshore wind development and is now preparing for a legal confrontation with the federal government over offshore wind policy. According to an assessment by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), California has approximately 100 GW of offshore wind development potential and a technical potential of up to 200 GW. During the Biden administration, California reached an agreement with the Department of the Interior in May 2021 to open federal waters off the state's coast for offshore wind development. Governor Gavin Newsom stated that developing offshore wind to generate clean renewable electricity could become a key component of California's strategy to achieve its clean energy goals and address climate change, while also promoting economic growth and creating jobs.

In September 2021, the California State Legislature passed Assembly Bill 525 (AB 525). Pursuant to the legislation, the California Energy Commission (CEC) established offshore wind planning goals in 2022, targeting 2–5 GW of installed capacity by 2030 and 25 GW by 2045. The 25 GW target is expected to generate enough electricity to power approximately 25 million homes, accounting for around 13% of California's electricity supply.

In December 2022, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), under the Department of the Interior, held its first offshore wind lease auction for federal seabed areas off California. The auction covered five lease areas located 32–48 kilometers offshore from California's central and northern coast, encompassing a total of 373,268 acres with an estimated generation capacity of 4.6 GW.

Winners of Lease Auction

Source: California State Lands Commission

Governor Newsom described the lease auction as a major step toward California's transition away from fossil fuels, viewing offshore wind as a cornerstone for achieving 90% clean electricity by 2035 and as one of the key power sources supporting the state's goal of a carbon-free electricity grid by 2045.

Despite political headwinds from the Trump administration, the California State Legislature approved funding for four offshore wind port infrastructure projects in September 2025, while the California Energy Commission announced grants in October to support the construction of floating offshore wind port facilities. Speaking at the Pacific Offshore Wind Summit earlier this year, CEC Chair David Hochschild emphasized that California would require a diverse mix of renewable energy resources to achieve its goal of 100% clean electricity by 2045 and reaffirmed the state's commitment to deploying 25 GW of offshore wind capacity by that year.

However, in April 2026, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced that it had reached an agreement with project developer Golden State Wind under which the company voluntarily relinquished its offshore wind lease off the California coast and shifted its investment toward conventional energy projects. According to the Department's press release, once Golden State Wind invests an equivalent amount in oil and gas, energy infrastructure, or liquefied natural gas (LNG) development along the U.S. Gulf Coast, it will become eligible to recover approximately US$120 million in offshore wind lease payments.

In June 2026, the Department of the Interior further announced that it would pay project developer Invenergy US$765 million to terminate four offshore wind lease agreements located off the coasts of New York, California, and Maine. The Department stated that Invenergy would use the funds to develop natural gas-fired power plants in Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri, as well as geothermal energy projects in the western United States.

Political commentators have described offshore wind as a new battleground between Governor Newsom and President Trump. Responding to the federal government's actions, Governor Newsom accused the Trump administration of using taxpayers' money to dismantle America's clean energy projects while enriching major oil companies.

In April, Democratic Representatives Jared Huffman of California and Jamie Raskin of Maryland condemned the agreement between the Department of the Interior and the project developer as "outrageous" and called for an investigation into what they alleged were unlawful agreements. In May, the California Energy Commission issued an administrative subpoena to Golden State Wind seeking documents related to its transactions with the Department of the Interior. In June, the Commission issued a similar subpoena to Invenergy to obtain additional information regarding its agreement with the Department.

On June 23, the California Attorney General and the Chair of the California Energy Commission announced that they had issued a Notice of Intent to Sue to both the Department of the Interior and Golden State Wind, alleging that the two parties had entered into an unlawful agreement. If the alleged violations of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) are not remedied within 60 days, the State of California will proceed with legal action.