California, New York Sue Trump Over Wind Lease Buybacks

Democratic attorneys general in California and New York filed separate lawsuits Tuesday against the Trump administration over its plan to buy back offshore wind leases, escalating a fight over the president's effort to steer federal energy policy away from renewables and toward fossil fuels, according to the Associated Press.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued over the cancellation of a project planned off his state's coast by Chicago-based Invenergy. New York Attorney General Letitia James led a coalition of seven states in a separate suit seeking to block both the Invenergy buyback and a related deal with Bluepoint Wind, which agreed in April to end a wind farm under development off the New York and New Jersey coasts, the AP reported.

What did California and New York sue over?

Both suits target the Interior Department's practice of paying energy companies to abandon offshore wind leases the companies had already secured. The Trump administration announced in June it was buying back Invenergy's leases for four wind projects spanning the East and West coasts. Bonta's suit challenges the loss of the California project specifically; James's coalition suit challenges both the Invenergy and Bluepoint Wind cancellations.

How much money is involved in the buybacks?

The Invenergy and Bluepoint Wind deals alone would hand the companies $1.4 billion in taxpayer funds in exchange for walking away from the projects, according to the AP. Nationwide, the Trump administration has pledged nearly $4 billion to companies willing to cancel wind developments, the report said.

At a glance

• $1.4 billion: taxpayer funds tied to the Invenergy and Bluepoint Wind buyback deals
• $4 billion: total pledged by the administration to cancel wind projects nationwide
• March 2026: month the Interior Department began buying back leases
• 7 states: joined New York's lawsuit against the buybacks

Why is the administration buying back wind leases instead of blocking them outright?

The Interior Department began purchasing offshore wind leases in March after federal courts blocked Trump's attempts to halt offshore wind development through executive action, according to the AP. In exchange for reimbursement of their lease fees, companies are redirecting investment toward fossil fuel projects and geothermal energy. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum framed the arrangement as a market shift rather than a mandate.

Companies "are shifting investment back toward dependable, secure energy infrastructure that can power our economy and lower utility costs," Burgum said, according to the AP.

What do the attorneys general say is wrong with the deals?

James called the buyback agreements illegal and argued they will ultimately raise Americans' electricity bills by undermining states' ability to build the generation capacity they have planned for, the AP reported. Bonta's suit similarly challenges the legality of pulling the California project after leases had already been granted. Neither suit is quoted at length in available reporting beyond that framing, and the Interior Department's public defense so far rests on Burgum's statement about redirecting investment toward what he called dependable infrastructure.

What happens next in court?

The cases add to a string of legal fights over Trump's offshore wind policy. Courts had already ruled against the administration's earlier attempt to halt wind development via executive action, which is what pushed Interior toward the buyback strategy in the first place, according to the AP. The new suits will test whether the buyback mechanism itself — canceling already-granted leases in exchange for payments — is a legally permissible alternative to the executive actions courts rejected.

Timeline

• March 2026: Interior Department starts buying back offshore wind leases after courts block Trump's executive actions on wind development
• April 2026: Bluepoint Wind agrees to end its New York/New Jersey offshore project
• June 2026: Interior announces buyback of Invenergy's leases for four East and West coast projects
• Sept. 22, 2026: California and New York, joined by five other states, file suits challenging the buybacks

What to watch

• Whether additional states join James's coalition suit
• How courts weigh the legality of lease buybacks versus the executive actions already struck down
• Whether Invenergy or Bluepoint Wind follow through on redirecting funds to fossil fuel or geothermal projects
• Any estimates state regulators release on projected electricity bill impacts from the canceled projects

The Guardian's original reporting, via the Associated Press, is available here.