Carolina, New York coasts cleared of wind projects in $1B American-French pact

(The Center Square) – North Carolina’s 301-mile coastline has been spared from a potential wind project of TotalEnergies by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

The United States will reimburse the company dollar-for-dollar to redirect $1 billion that was designated for leases off the shores of North Carolina and New York, a release from Secretary Doug Burgum’s office says. The French company will instead invest in natural gas projects.

“This agreement is yet another win for President Trump’s commitment to affordable and reliable energy for all Americans,” said Burgum. “Offshore wind is one of the most expensive, unreliable, environmentally disruptive, and subsidy-dependent schemes ever forced on American ratepayers and taxpayers. We welcome TotalEnergies’ commitment to developing projects that produce dependable, affordable power to lower Americans’ monthly bills while providing secure U.S. baseload power today – and in the future.”

The leases were in the Carolina Long Bay area, and the New ...