North Carolina Construction News staff writer
North Carolina Governor Josh Stein criticized a new federal agreement with TotalEnergies, calling it “a terrible deal for the people of North Carolina and our country.”
“The Trump Administration is spending nearly $1 billion in taxpayer money to pay off a company to stop investments in the clean energy we need,” Stein said Tuesday, responding to the announcement from the U.S. Department of the Interior.
The agreement redirects nearly $1 billion from offshore wind leases toward natural gas and LNG projects in the United States. Under the deal, TotalEnergies will invest the value of its renounced offshore wind leases in oil and natural gas development, including Trains 1 to 4 at the Rio Grande LNG plant in Texas and upstream oil and shale gas production in the Gulf of America. The U.S. government will reimburse the company dollar-for-dollar for the original lease fees, including $133.3 million for a lease in the Carolina Long Bay area and $795 million for a lease in the New York Bight.
“This agreement is yet another win for affordable and reliable energy for all Americans,” said Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, noting that TotalEnergies also pledged not to pursue any new offshore wind projects in the United States.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi praised the deal, saying it prioritizes affordability for consumers while strengthening national security. Patrick Pouyanné, chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies, said renouncing offshore wind allows the company to reinvest lease fees in U.S. LNG and oil and gas projects, supporting domestic production and exports to Europe.
The Carolina Long Bay lease, part of TotalEnergies’ $1 billion investment shift, underscores the federal focus on bolstering U.S. energy infrastructure and directing capital toward projects with immediate reliability impacts rather than offshore wind development.