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Business & Economy21 outlets ran this5 min read

RWE relinquishes US offshore wind leases in $1.22bn Trump administration deal

The settlement is the fifth since March, bringing total federal buybacks to $3.9bn as states prepare lawsuits

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published
Turbines are visible at Sunrise Wind offshore wind farm that is under construction off the coast of Montauk Point, New York, April 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel, File)

What this story says

  • RWE U.S. Offshore will relinquish offshore wind leases off New York, California and Louisiana for $1.22bn, bringing total federal buybacks to $3.9bn since March.
  • The Trump administration’s strategy follows court rulings blocking executive actions to halt offshore wind development.
  • RWE announced $900m investment in a Louisiana LNG project and $300m in natural gas turbines, part of 15 gas projects nationwide.
  • California and other states intend to sue over the lease cancellations, while Senator Sheldon Whitehouse called the buybacks a "money pump" for consumers.

Who covered it

Left 35%(7)Centre 65%(13)Right 0%(0)

Percentages are shares of the 20 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 1 of the 21 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

76/100

Craft

95/100

Hype

15/100

21 sources · methodology

Thin on the right so far

None of the 20 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.

This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.

RWE U.S. Offshore agreed to relinquish offshore wind leases off New York, California and Louisiana in a $1.22bn settlement with the Trump administration, as reported by the Associated Press and Washington Top News. The deal ends projects that could have generated seven gigawatts of power, enough for over five million homes. RWE said the leases represented years of planning and investment but cited no viable path to permitting under current federal policy.

The settlement is the fifth since March, bringing the total federal expenditure on offshore wind lease buybacks to approximately $3.9bn. Previous agreements involved TotalEnergies, Golden State Wind, Bluepoint Wind and Invenergy, each receiving reimbursements contingent on reinvestment in fossil fuel projects. The Trump administration adopted the buyback strategy after federal courts blocked its attempts to halt offshore wind development through executive orders, as reported by the Associated Press.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the agreement would strengthen energy security and keep electricity affordable, while Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island, called the buybacks a "money pump" that would increase consumer costs. RWE announced it would invest $900m in a Louisiana LNG project and $300m in natural gas turbines, part of 15 gas projects across the United States, as reported by both the Associated Press and Washington Top News.

What the coverage left out

No right-rated outlet ran this story. None of the centre-rated digests mentioned RWE’s $300m investment in natural gas turbines or its 15 gas projects nationwide. The left-rated reports did not include the number of homes the cancelled projects could have powered, a figure carried by the Associated Press.

Tags:#OffshoreWind#USEnergyPolicy#FossilFuelSubsidies#ClimatePolicy#TrumpAdministration

Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 3 times, most recently on 6 Aug 2026, 19:45, and will add the sides that appear.

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

7 rated outlets

  • The left-rated reports led on the financial and environmental implications of the buyback. The Associated Press and Spiegel described the settlement as part of a broader campaign to discourage renewable energy in favour of fossil fuels. The Associated Press quoted Senator Sheldon Whitehouse calling the buybacks a "scam" and a "corruption story," framing the policy as a transfer of wealth from consumers to fossil fuel donors.
  • The Seattle Times and Bangor Daily News carried the $3.9bn total expenditure figure and the states’ intention to sue. Canary Media and Heatmap focused on the administration’s justification for halting wind projects, with Canary Media calling the national security claim "ludicrous." NBC LA highlighted California’s inclusion in the deal, while Spiegel used the phrase "luxuriant compensation" to describe the $1.22bn payment.

Centre

13 rated outlets

  • The centre-rated digests uniformly reported the $1.22bn settlement and the three states involved. Thirteen of the thirteen centre-rated digests carried the total expenditure figure of $3.9bn, as seen in the Lake Charles American Press, The Record and KOB 4. Fortune and Maritime Reporter led on RWE’s reinvestment in Louisiana LNG and natural gas projects, with Fortune noting the administration’s $3bn spending on cancellations since March.
  • Washington Top News and the Associated Press, both reprinted in full, quoted Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s statement that the deal would provide "dependable baseload power" and keep electricity affordable. The Times-Standard included a local reaction from Humboldt County, quoting an unnamed source calling the deal a win for the fossil fuel industry and a loss for the planet. None of the centre-rated digests quoted Senator Whitehouse or used the term "money pump."

Right

0 rated outlets

No outlet rated right has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.

Read it at the source

21 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

7

Centre

13
Show 5 more

Right

0

No outlet in this group ran the story.

Not rated

1

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RWE abandons US offshore wind projects in $1.22bn deal | MediaBias News