The Trump administration’s systematic dismantling of Joe Biden’s offshore wind dreams continued on Monday.
The Department of Interior (DOI) announced an agreement with Duke Energy in which the company agrees to cancel its plans for a huge wind project offshore North Carolina — adjacent to the Carolina Long Bay area — in exchange for a payment of $129 million.
Despite claims from critics that the payment amounts to the administration bribing Duke to cancel its project, the truth is that the funds represent a partial reimbursement of the company’s lease costs consistent with federal statutes and regulations. The good news for North Carolina is the way Duke plans to reinvest the funds.
“This settlement allows Duke Energy to refocus $129 million in ways that directly benefit our customers and communities in the Carolinas,” said Kodwo Ghartey-Tagoe, executive vice president and chief executive officer of Duke Energy Carolinas. “Under the agreement, Duke Energy will reinvest nearly $129 million in additional generating capacity, which may include advancing new nuclear and natural gas generation, and grid enhancements to strengthen reliability, support continued growth in the Carolinas and keep costs as low as possible.”
So, rather than saddling ratepayers with higher bills which invariably result from subsidy deals between state governments and offshore wind farms, Duke plans to target its funds to new, 24/7 baseload capacity. Those hardest hit will be the craven public officials who had hoped to signal their green virtues related to the wind fiasco.
As Interior Secretary Doug Burgum pointed out, it’s a win/win for all involved. “President Trump’s vision of unleashing affordable, reliable American energy for our country’s communities and using common sense to put the American people first is being implemented,” Burgum said. “Duke Energy will now be able to convert a national security concern into projects that will lower the costs for its customers in North Carolina and surrounding states. The agreement is a win-win scenario that has become a hallmark for how the Trump administration operates.”
The settlement with Duke Energy is the latest in a series of similar deals between the Interior Department and offshore developers. Since early 2026, the DOI has executed multiple similar deals to unwind early-stage offshore wind leases, redirecting capital toward reliable energy sources as part of the Energy Dominance agenda. These deals provide partial reimbursements for lease payments while encouraging companies to invest in natural gas, nuclear, oil, LNG, or geothermal projects.
In March 2026, TotalEnergies agreed to terminate two major leases (adjacent to New York and North Carolina) for approximately $928 million. The French energy giant redirected those funds into U.S. oil and gas production, LNG facilities in Texas, and Gulf of Mexico projects.
In mid-June 2026, Invenergy relinquished four leases across the New York Bight, Central Coast of California and Gulf of Maine for $765 million. The developer committed to building natural gas-fired plants in Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri, plus geothermal projects in the West.
Additional agreements with Bluepoint Wind (New York/New Jersey) and Golden State Wind (California) contributed roughly $900 million more. By the time of the Duke Energy deal, the cumulative value of these buyouts reached approximately $2.7 billion.
In each case, companies voluntarily surrendered leases, received reimbursements consistent with federal law and pivoted investments to dispatchable power sources. The administration has framed these as pragmatic corrections designed to move capital away from subsidized, intermittent projects toward affordable, reliable generation that enhances grid stability and lowers long-term costs for Americans.
That framing is certainly accurate, but it is more than that.
This systematic approach to cancel Biden’s heavily subsidized offshore wind sector is a fundamental aspect of the sea change in federal energy policy direction brought about by this second Trump presidency. It’s American Energy Dominance in action, a comprehensive agenda which has effectively reversed the 12 years of managed energy decline invoked during the presidencies of Biden and his Democrat predecessor, Barack Obama.
What we are fully realizing in this Trump presidency is that America’s decline was a conscious choice forced by those two former presidents. That’s a choice President Donald Trump and his administration have no interest in making.
David Blackmon is an energy writer and consultant based in Texas. He spent 40 years in the oil and gas business, where he specialized in public policy and communications.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
