The US Department of the Interior announced on April 27 that two offshore wind developers have withdrawn their plans to build wind farms and will instead invest in fossil energy projects. The terminated projects were located off the coasts of California and New York.
Bluepoint Wind project off the coast of New York and Golden State Wind project planned off the coast of California have terminated their federal leases. The Trump administration stated that these projects were too costly for taxpayers.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum stated in a release that the products sold to developers in 2022 heavily relied on taxpayer subsidies. “Today, hardworking Americans are no longer footing the bill for expensive, unreliable, and intermittent energy projects, with companies now reinvesting in affordable, secure, and reliable energy infrastructure.”
He also mentioned, “This new agreement also addresses national security concerns that had not been addressed in the two projects.”
The US paused construction of offshore wind projects in December 2025 due to national security risks identified by the Department of Defense. Concerns included large turbine blades potentially interfering with radar, resulting in “clutter” that could cause radars to miss actual targets. According to analysis by the Heritage Foundation, offshore wind projects could generate vibrations, electromagnetic fields, and sound signals that could travel long distances and potentially disrupt the detection of undersea threats, introducing new vulnerabilities to the grid.
The Golden State Wind project was initially planned for the Morro Bay Wind Energy Area off the central coast of California. After voluntarily terminating the offshore wind lease, the project owners would be eligible to receive approximately $120 million in lease payments if they invest an equivalent amount in US oil and natural gas assets, energy infrastructure, or US LNG projects. The project owners have also decided not to advance any new offshore wind projects in the US.
The Bluepoint Wind project was in the early stages of development, intended to power over a million homes and seen as a key component in helping New York and New Jersey achieve their carbon reduction goals by 2030. Global Infrastructure Partners, a subsidiary of BlackRock, committed the highest bid amount of up to $765 million for Bluepoint Wind to be invested in US LNG facilities. The Interior Department stated that it would cancel related leases and refund the bidding fees from the previous wind projects based on the amount invested in the LNG project.
Michael Brown, CEO of Ocean Winds North America, which holds equal shares in the Bluepoint Wind and Golden State Wind projects, stated, “Our priority remains to strictly control capital allocation and provide reliable energy solutions to create long-term value for customers, partners, and shareholders.”