California prepares legal challenge over offshore wind buybacks
The state has filed a 60-day notice over the federal buyback of offshore wind leases, including the Golden State Wind project.
California is preparing to sue the Trump administration over the federal buyback of offshore wind leases. State officials said they have sent a 60-day notice to the Department of the Interior, setting up legal action if the situation is not reversed.
At the centre of the dispute is Golden State Wind, a floating offshore wind project off California's central coast that is among those being terminated through buyback agreements with the federal government. California has targeted 25GW of offshore wind capacity by 2045 — enough to power roughly 25m homes and meet about 13% of state electricity demand — and officials say the move threatens that strategy and undercuts years of planning and investment in ports, transmission and supply chains.
"Countries that thrive around the world are those that lean into innovation, into the energy sources of the future. To turn away from this, and turn back the clock, and really engage in what I consider to be a war on innovation, is really ill-considered," said California Energy Commission chair David Hochschild.
Under the arrangements, companies that cancel leases are reimbursed for lease fees but must instead invest in fossil fuel and geothermal projects. Interior secretary Doug Burgum has said the policy is helping shift capital toward "dependable, secure energy infrastructure that can power our economy and lower utility costs". Golden State Wind, a joint venture between Ocean Winds and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, can recover about $120m in lease fees under its deal after investing the same amount in oil and gas assets, infrastructure or projects along the Gulf coast.
California attorney general Rob Bonta said the state would not stand by while Trump "illegally strikes deals to kill offshore wind projects and replace them with more windfalls for his fossil fuel friends." The Golden State Wind case is part of a wider rollback: five federal offshore wind leases have been awarded off California, two of which are now being cancelled, while nationwide eight offshore wind projects have been halted under agreements worth over $2bn, including deals with TotalEnergies and Bluepoint Wind. California says it has already spent more than $100m over the past decade preparing ports, transmission and industry for offshore wind — investments officials warn are now at risk.
