RWE has reached a settlement with the US Department of the Interior under which it will relinquish three offshore wind leases off the coasts of New York, California and Louisiana in return for $1.22bn to resolve its legal claims against the US government.

RWE secured the leases from the US government and subsequently invested more than $1bn to acquire them and develop the associated projects. The company said it concluded there was no realistic route to obtaining permits for the developments in the foreseeable future.

Rather than continue committing capital to projects facing permitting uncertainty, RWE plans to redirect resources towards US energy infrastructure it believes can be developed with greater certainty.

The settlement marks a significant retreat from RWE’s US offshore wind ambitions. The company said the leases represented years of planning and cooperation with federal agencies, but that changing project circumstances ultimately left no viable path forward.

The $1.22bn settlement provides RWE with substantial capital to redeploy across its wider US business. Among its planned investments is a $900m commitment to acquire an indirect 16% stake in the Louisiana LNG project, with RWE’s investment intended to support construction of the export terminal.

RWE is also reserving future gas-fired generating capacity through a $300m turbine agreement. The company is developing a pipeline of 15 natural gas peaking projects aimed at meeting growing US electricity demand.

The shift reflects the increasingly complex investment environment facing offshore wind developers in the US, where permitting, regulatory and policy uncertainty have affected several large projects.

Despite withdrawing from the three leases, RWE said it remains committed to expanding its US energy business. RWE Americas plans to invest around €17bn in the country over the next six years, increasing its generation capacity from approximately 13GW across 27 states to 22GW by 2031.

The company commissioned 2GW of new US generation capacity in 2025 alone.

Globally, RWE continues to expand its offshore wind portfolio. It currently has 18 offshore wind farms operating and four under construction, alongside projects in development, including 6.9GW secured in the UK's latest offshore wind auction.

The settlement therefore represents a strategic change in RWE's US portfolio rather than an exit from offshore wind as a technology.