Trump administration to pay French company $1B to drop U.S. offshore wind leases

A sign for the French company TotalEnergies is displayed at headquarters March 21, 2025, in La Defense business district outside of Paris.

TotalEnergies has agreed to what's essentially a refund of its leases for projects off the coasts of North Carolina and New York, and will invest the money in fossil fuel projects instead, the Department of Interior announced.

(Image credit: Thomas Padilla)