In the United States, TotalEnergies abandons wind power and now focuses on gas

The Trump administration continues to target renewable energy sources. TotalEnergies signed a contract with the United States on Monday, March 23, ending two offshore wind projects off the coast of New York and North Carolina, which were awarded to the French company in 2022. “Unlike Europe, the development of offshore wind projects in the United States is costly and could negatively impact electricity prices for American consumers,” the company stated in a press release.

Therefore, the French group considered that these wind projects were not in the interest of the United States: “We have decided to give up these projects in this country, in exchange for the refund of royalties owed to the American government,” said its CEO, Patrick Pouyanné, at the 2026 edition of CERAWeek in Texas. A reimbursement of $928 million (about 800 million euros), detailed by The New York Times, which could be reinvested in the construction of a Rio Grande LNG plant in Texas. A major liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal project, Le Monde reports. For Patrick Pouyanné, this dialogue is “win-win.”

Leading U.S. LNG exporter. The French company is already well established in the United States. Since 2022, it has invested over $12 billion in the U.S. in the development of oil, LNG, and electricity. It is the leading U.S. LNG exporter with 19 million tons exported in 2025. According to TotalEnergies, this investment will provide “Europe with the LNG it needs and supply gas for the development of data centers in the United States.”

Since returning to power, Donald Trump has been trying to cancel wind projects, but these attempts have been rejected by judges. In a way, he circumvents new legal reversals. The two wind projects had a capacity of 4 gigawatts. They were supposed to be operational by 2029 and 2031. In 2025, wind and solar accounted for 17% of electricity production in the United States, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).