Trump Administration Strikes New Offshore Wind Lease Buyback Deal, Invenergy Agrees to Exit Four Projects

The US Department of the Interior (DOI) said on 17 June that it had reached an agreement with Invenergy under which the developer will relinquish four offshore wind leases in exchange for a USD 765 million (approximately EUR 664 million) reimbursement and redirect the capital into natural gas and geothermal energy projects.

The settlement covers lease areas in the New York Bight, offshore California’s Central Coast and the Gulf of Maine. According to the DOI, Invenergy will invest the reimbursed funds in natural gas-fired power plants in Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri, as well as geothermal projects in the western United States.  

The agreement is the latest in a series of lease termination deals the Trump administration has reached with developers as part of its efforts to halt new offshore wind development and shift investment towards conventional generation sources.

Since the beginning of this year, the administration has announced similar agreements with TotalEnergies and developers behind the Golden State Wind and Bluepoint Wind projects, led by Ocean Winds.

The four leases agreed to be surrendered by Invenergy are in the early stages of development.

In the New York Bight, Invenergy holds a lease awarded to the company in the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) 2022 auction, which Invenergy has been developing as the Leading Light Wind project in partnership with energyRe.

The agreement with the US government also covers Invenergy’s California lease area in the Morro Bay Wind Energy Area (WEA), which the company secured during BOEM’s first offshore wind auction on the US West Coast in 2022 and later branded the project as Even Keel Wind.  

In the Gulf of Maine, Invenergy acquired two lease areas during BOEM’s 2024 auction, OCS-A 0562 and OCS-A 0567, which are planned to house floating wind technology.   

Invenergy said the decision reflects its focus on projects that can be delivered within commercially viable timelines amid growing electricity demand.

The latest agreement brings the total value of offshore wind lease buyback deals announced by the Trump administration to nearly USD 2.6 billion (approx. EUR 2.3 billion).

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