New York and New Jersey have joined a multistate coalition suing the federal government over a pair of settlements that redirected more than $1.4 billion away from offshore wind development and toward fossil fuel projects.
A total of eight states filed two separate lawsuits against the Trump administration and the companies Invenergy and Bluepoint Wind on Tuesday. The states argue that the deals, each struck earlier this year, are an illegal use of taxpayer dollars that have resulted in canceled projects that could have delivered badly needed electricity to the Northeast while creating thousands of jobs in the region.
“These illegal backroom deals take money that should have gone toward lowering New Yorkers' bills and hand it to fossil fuel projects in other states, all while our energy demand continues to grow,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement. “At a moment when every available resource should go to keeping the lights on and prices down, this administration is choosing corruption over communities.”
Charlotte Taylor, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of the Interior, said the department would not comment on litigation. But she noted that the Trump administration, which has staunchly opposed offshore wind, determined the projects posed national security risks, and that the companies voluntarily agreed to the deals, which were reviewed by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The administration will not "sit back and let reckless projects" create higher utility costs, a weakened energy system and unnecessary harm to the environment, Taylor said in a statement.
The lawsuit challenging the Bluepoint settlement was filed in federal district court for the Eastern District of New York. Bluepoint Wind had been planned for federal waters 38 miles south of Long Island and 53 miles east of the Jersey Shore, and was designed to produce 2.4 gigawatts of electricity. That’s enough to power more than 1 million homes, according to the company.
The Trump administration and Bluepoint reached a settlement to cancel the project's lease in April, in a portion of the ocean that the company previously bid $765 million for. The project was still in its early stages and construction had not started. The settlement pays $765 million to the company, and that money will be spent on oil and gas development.
Bluepoint plans to use that money to build a liquified natural gas facility, according to James’ office.
Bluepoint Wind did not respond to a request for comment.
Meanwhile, the lawsuit against the Invenergy settlement was filed in federal court in Maine. Invenergy held a lease to build offshore wind 35 miles off the Jersey Shore and 69 miles south of Long Island, as well as two leases in the Gulf of Maine. Invenergy had bid a total of $653 million for all of those leases. They were canceled through a settlement with federal authorities in June, in a deal that pays the company $653 million to be reinvested in oil and gas projects.
Invenergy plans to use that money to build natural gas power plants across the Midwest, according to James’ office.
Invenergy did not respond to a request for comment.
The federal government is paying out the settlements from the Department of Justice’s Judgement Fund. Gov. Kathy Hochul called the arrangement a “pay-not-to-play scheme” in a statement, adding the Trump administration’s move “is an outrageous abuse of taxpayer dollars that hurts our ability to meet our energy needs, reduce emissions, create good paying jobs and help secure American energy independence.”
Both lawsuits seek court orders declaring the settlements unlawful and voiding the lease cancellations.
The Trump administration has reached similar deals to cancel other offshore wind projects, and those deals have faced similar challenges. New York and New Jersey sued over a similar deal with TotalEnergies in June.
States in the Northeast are grappling with soaring electricity prices driven by a supply crunch as demand for power, especially for new data centers, grows. Both New York and New Jersey had invested heavily in recent years to support the local offshore wind industry, but that work has largely ground to a halt since President Donald Trump returned to the White House.
New York has one offshore wind facility, South Fork Wind, which began sending power to Long Island in 2023. Two more – Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind – are currently under construction, despite federal efforts to halt that work.
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill previously told WNYC that the Garden State will focus on offshore wind again in the future “if that makes sense.” Sherrill has emphasized developing solar and nuclear energy in the meantime.
