New York State, together with attorneys general from six other states, has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the scrapping of a major offshore wind lease held by French energy company TotalEnergies.
The legal action, announced by Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James, targets a deal made public in March 2026.
Under the deal, the Department of the Interior (DoI) agreed to terminate two offshore wind leases and pay TotalEnergies nearly $1bn from federal funds if the company redirected its investments towards oil and gas projects.
The arrangement follows the DoI’s decision to cancel the Attentive Energy lease, located nearly 47 miles off the coast of New York, and another lease off North Carolina. Attentive Energy is a subsidiary of TotalEnergies.
The federal agency cited new national security concerns as its reason for the cancellation, despite earlier approvals after extensive analysis.
The deal requires TotalEnergies to invest around $795m (€684.38m) in fossil fuel projects and refrain from developing any new offshore wind projects in the US.
In return, the US Government would reimburse the company with the same amount, funded through the Judgment Fund, which is typically reserved for settling claims connected to ongoing or imminent litigation.
Attentive Energy purchased the New York lease in 2022 for $795m.
The area was designated for two projects: Attentive Energy One planned to supply electricity to New York City and Attentive Energy Two to New Jersey.
Projected economic benefits from Attentive Energy One over its 25-year expected lifespan included $25.6bn for New York State and $10bn in energy bill savings for residents, alongside the creation of 1,716 new jobs.
By the time the cancellation was announced, construction plans for the projects were under federal review.
According to the state coalition, offshore wind capacity is necessary for New York to address rising electricity demand, particularly in New York City.
Governor Hochul said the loss of the lease threatens the development of more than a thousand jobs, long-term investment and infrastructure improvements.
The lawsuit claims that the DoI failed to follow procedures under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, which mandates a hearing and a detailed assessment before terminating such leases.
It also alleges a breach of the Judgment Fund Act, arguing that paying TotalEnergies $795m did not constitute a legitimate legal settlement but was instead an arrangement influenced by the president’s opposition to wind energy.
The current litigation follows previous court challenges brought by New York and others against the Trump administration’s restrictions on wind energy.
New York Attorney General Letitia James said: “The Trump administration is once again trying to kill clean energy projects and destroy good-paying jobs for New Yorkers.
“After repeatedly losing in court, this administration cooked up a sham deal to pay a foreign energy company hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to abandon offshore wind and invest in oil and gas instead.
“We are fighting back to stop this illegal agreement that threatens to erase over a thousand union jobs and cheat millions of New Yorkers out of clean, affordable energy.”
Joining New York in the present case are the attorneys general of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Vermont.
The coalition is seeking a court order to overturn the agreement, restore the cancelled leases and prevent further government action under the contested deal.
