Trump's attacks on offshore wind could hurt infrastructure spending across the economy

## Summary
DON EMMERT/AFP via Getty Images/AFP hide caption toggle caption DON EMMERT/AFP via Getty Images/AFP The Trump administration announced a deal on Monday with French energy giant TotalEnergies to shift investment away from America's offshore wind industry and into oil and gas instead. By intervening to stop investments that President Trump personally opposes, the administration risks chilling infrastructure spending across the economy, not just in offshore wind, says Leslie Abrahams, deputy director of the Energy Security and Climate Change program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "This new dimension of policy uncertainty can make it so that we have fewer infrastructure projects that happen more slowly and are more expensive," Abrahams says. RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images/AFP hide caption toggle caption RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images/AFP Swings in U.S. energy policy threaten renewables and fossil fuels alike The Trump administration has prioritized the use of fossil fuels while trying to limit construction of renewable energy projects. Climate Power prices are expected to soar under new tax cut and spending law Now, the industry's future in the U.S. is uncertain. "Project developers and financiers may be wary of investing in a capital-intensive sector with such demonstrable, high election risk," says Fox of ClearView Energy Partners. "Even if you have a next president who says, 'We love offshore wind,' you may be wondering, 'Will there be another Trump-like opposition thereafter?'" But Fox says the entire energy industry stands to suffer as the sector becomes more politicized and federal policy swings more and more dramatically from one administration to the next. "When you're building a power plant or thinking about oil production, you're thinking not just about the current administration, you're thinking about the next couple of decades," Fox says. "And the pendulum swing is a real policy risk." offshore wind climate change energy policy energy prices renewable energy Facebook Flipboard Email

## Article Content
Climate
Trump's attacks on offshore wind could hurt infrastructure spending across the economy
March 26, 2026
5:19 AM ET
By
Michael Copley
Wind turbines off the coast of Rhode Island. Supporters say offshore wind projects are a valuable resource for meeting rising power demand and ensuring electric reliability.
DON EMMERT/AFP via Getty Images/AFP
hide caption
toggle caption
DON EMMERT/AFP via Getty Images/AFP
The Trump administration announced a deal on Monday with French energy giant TotalEnergies to shift investment away from America's offshore wind industry and into oil and gas instead. Industry analysts say the agreement threatens to undermine business confidence in the United States by exerting unprecedented executive power to influence the private sector.
Under the deal, TotalEnergies
said
it will recover
nearly $1 billion
the company and its partners paid the federal government for offshore wind leases off the coasts of North Carolina and New York. TotalEnergies pledged to invest an equal amount of money in U.S. oil and gas production, as well as a liquified natural gas plant in Texas.
Additionally, TotalEnergies pledged not to develop any new offshore wind projects in the U.S.,
saying
such investments aren't in the country's interest.
News
Trump takes aim at windmills despite increasing energy costs
"The Trump administration has created a new playbook for how a sitting president can constrain energy resources or policies it opposes," says Timothy Fox, a managing director at ClearView Energy Partners, a research firm.
By intervening to stop investments that President Trump personally opposes, the administration risks chilling infrastructure spending across the economy, not just in offshore wind, says Leslie Abrahams, deputy director of the Energy Security and Climate Change program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
"This new dimension of policy uncertainty can make it so that we have fewer infrastructure projects that happen more slowly and are more expensive," Abrahams says.
The White House referred comment to the Interior Department. The department cited a news release in which Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the agreement with TotalEnergies "is yet another win for President Trump's commitment to affordable and reliable energy for all Americans."
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At an energy conference in Houston this week, TotalEnergies Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanné called the deal a win-win for his company and the U.S. government. TotalEnergies
said
in a news release that it has found offshore wind projects in the U.S., unlike those in Europe, "are costly and might have a negative impact on power affordability for U.S. consumers."
TotalEnergies had already paused its offshore wind activities in the U.S. soon after Trump was re-elected.
Evan Vaughan, executive director of the Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Coalition, an industry group, said in a
statement
that the administration's deal with TotalEnergies was "disappointing but sadly not surprising."
With
power demand
rising faster than it has in decades, "we need every energy source available to deliver affordable, reliable, and secure energy for American consumers," Vaughan said.
TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné, left, shakes hands with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum after signing an agreement at an energy conference in Houston to end the French company's offshore wind projects in the U.S. and redirect those funds towards fossil fuel production.
RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images/AFP
hide caption
toggle caption
RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images/AFP
Swings in U.S. energy policy threaten renewables and fossil fuels alike
The Trump administration has prioritized the use of fossil fuels while trying to limit construction of renewable energy projects. Trump is especially hostile toward wind energy, railing against the industry after he
lost a fight
with an offshore wind project near one of his golf courses in Scotland more than a decade ago.
The Interior Department announced the TotalEnergies deal months after a federal judge
struck down
an
executive order
that had halted approvals for new wind energy projects in federal lands and waters. The administration had also tried, unsuccessfully, to stop construction of five offshore wind projects that were already under development along the East Coast, citing
national security concerns
that the Defense Department had allegedly raised.
Referring to the agreement with TotalEnergies, Abrahams says, "Through this deal, the administration is demonstrating that they understand that they can't go through the courts to accomplish what they want."
Climate
Trump administration claims offshore wind poses a threat. But it won't say how.
It's unclear if similar deals are in the works, wind industry experts say. Companies are sitting on more than a dozen leases in federal waters that could be sites for future wind p

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## Expert Analysis

### Merits
- Supporters say offshore wind projects are a valuable resource for meeting rising power demand and ensuring electric reliability.

### Areas for Consideration
- Referring to the agreement with TotalEnergies, Abrahams says, "Through this deal, the administration is demonstrating that they understand that they can't go through the courts to accomplish what they want." Climate Trump administration claims offshore wind poses a threat.
- It's unclear if similar deals are in the works, wind industry experts say.
- Climate Power prices are expected to soar under new tax cut and spending law Now, the industry's future in the U.S. is uncertain. "Project developers and financiers may be wary of investing in a capital-intensive sector with such demonstrable, high election risk," says Fox of ClearView Energy Partners. "Even if you have a next president who says, 'We love offshore wind,' you may be wondering, 'Will there be another Trump-like opposition thereafter?'" But Fox says the entire energy industry stands to suffer as the sector becomes more politicized and federal policy swings more and more dramatically from one administration to the next. "When you're building a power plant or thinking about oil production, you're thinking not just about the current administration, you're thinking about the next couple of decades," Fox says. "And the pendulum swing is a real policy risk." offshore wind climate change energy policy energy prices renewable energy Facebook Flipboard Email

### Implications
- Climate Trump's attacks on offshore wind could hurt infrastructure spending across the economy March 26, 2026 5:19 AM ET By Michael Copley Wind turbines off the coast of Rhode Island.
- Industry analysts say the agreement threatens to undermine business confidence in the United States by exerting unprecedented executive power to influence the private sector.
- Under the deal, TotalEnergies said it will recover nearly $1 billion the company and its partners paid the federal government for offshore wind leases off the coasts of North Carolina and New York.
- By intervening to stop investments that President Trump personally opposes, the administration risks chilling infrastructure spending across the economy, not just in offshore wind, says Leslie Abrahams, deputy director of the Energy Security and Climate Change program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "This new dimension of policy uncertainty can make it so that we have fewer infrastructure projects that happen more slowly and are more expensive," Abrahams says.

### Expert Commentary
This article covers wind, energy, offshore topics. Notable strengths include discussion of wind. Areas of concern are also raised. Readability: Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.0. Word count: 1032.