Editor’s note: The story has been updated to include a response from DOI.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) on Tuesday slammed President Donald Trump, accusing the latter of deliberately slowing down clean energy projects to favor fossil fuels.
California AG Touts Notice Of Intent To Sue
California Attorney General Rob Bonta accused Trump of “illegally working to kill offshore wind projects” and favoring fossil fuels, in a post on X. He then said that California had sent a “Notice Of Intent To Sue” for the Trump administration.
The press release shared by Bonta outlined that the notice was targeting an “unlawful agreement between the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) and Golden State Wind LLC (GSW) that puts at risk California’s clean energy gains.”
The California AG said that the Trump administration had violated the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), which outlines that California will have a “say in the offshore wind leasing program and prevent corrupt backroom deals,” the press release said.
The press release accused the DOI of “illegally allocating” over $120 million to the company to abandon an offshore wind energy lease it secured in 2022 for a 2-Gigawatt offshore wind farm in the Morro Bay Wind Energy Area, the press release said.
The DOI responded to Benzinga’s request for comment. “These offshore wind settlements return bid amounts to the developers because the projects had national security concerns,” a spokesperson for the agency said, adding that the funds would be used to bolster “America’s energy independence” and lower costs.
The spokesperson also outlined that the agreements are “approved by the Department of Justice,” and are publicly available. “Rather than root out waste, fraud, and abuse, California’s government would rather protect its special interest donors,” they said.
The White House did not immediately respond to Benzinga‘s request for comment
Gavin Newsom Says Trump Engaged In Corrupt Deals
Quoting Bonta’s post, Newsom slammed Trump for the GSW deal, saying that the President was “wasting millions of taxpayer dollars on corrupt, backroom deals,” which put California’s potential to deliver energy independence provided by offshore wind at risk. Newsom also asked people to “stay tuned” for further developments.
Newsom had earlier also criticized Trump’s decision to restart the Sable Offshore Corp (NYSE:SOC) pipeline off the Santa Barbara coast in California, which was at the center of controversy following a 2015 oil spill that caused significant environmental damage and was subsequently shut down by authorities.
Trump Admin Sued By New York AG
New York Attorney General Letitia James had earlier this month sued the Trump admin over a similar deal with French energy company TotalEnergies SE (NYSE:TTE), saying that the Trump administration was giving nearly $1 billion to the energy company to divest from offshore wind projects in favor of fossil fuels.
Meanwhile, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) recently reaffirmed criticism of Trump over his administration’s pro-fossil fuel stance. Sanders said that the President was favoring his “big oil friends” while downplaying the climate crisis.
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