California Sends Notice of Intent to File Suit Challenging Trump Administration’s Unlawful Offshore Wind Deal

For Immediate Release: June 23, 2026

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta and California Energy Commission (CEC) Chair David Hochschild today sent a Notice of Intent to Sue 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, thousands of high-quality jobs, and more than $100 million in public investments in the offshore wind industry, including voter-approved climate funds. Under the agreement, DOI illegally reallocates $120 million in federal taxpayer dollars to pay GSW to abandon its offshore wind energy lease in federal waters off of California’s Central Coast and requires GSW to invest an equal amount in out-of-state fossil-fuel projects that will do nothing to support California’s energy economy. If allowed to proceed, the lease buyout threatens to set back California’s burgeoning offshore wind industry by years. Just last week, the Trump Administration used the same maneuver to pay off another California offshore wind leaseholder, Invenergy, to the tune of $765 million.

In the Notice of Intent to Sue sent to DOI and GSW today, California alleges that DOI’s buyout deal with GSW violates the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), which is supposed to ensure that California gets a say in the offshore wind leasing program and prevent corrupt backroom deals. The Notice of Intent to Sue provides a 60-day window for DOI and GSW to cure the OCSLA violations before California files suit to put a stop to this unlawful buyout.  

“At a time when the country needs more reliable and sustainable power supply, the Trump Administration is busy using taxpayer money to strike backroom buyouts that make clean-energy projects disappear. California won’t stand idly by as the Trump Administration illegally strikes deals to kill offshore wind projects and replace them with more windfalls for his fossil fuel friends; we’re putting the Administration on notice that we intend to sue,” said Attorney General Bonta. “California has already made substantial investments in clean wind energy that have advanced California’s clean energy goals, created high-quality jobs, and bolstered our economy. My office will continue to fight back aggressively against the Trump Administration’s illegal attacks on wind energy projects.”

“California strongly condemns yet another reckless Trump Administration misuse of taxpayer dollars that undermines clean energy growth and U.S. energy security,” said California Energy Commission Chair David Hochschild. “California will continue to lead the way toward a cleaner, more reliable grid powered by domestic resources. Offshore wind remains an essential component of that work.” 

California’s offshore wind strategic plan calls for the State to develop 25 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2045, enough to power roughly 25 million homes and provide about 13% of the state’s electricity supply, to accelerate California’s clean energy transition, create local manufacturing jobs, and drive economic development.

In 2022, after a highly competitive auction for offshore wind energy leases, GSW paid the U.S. $120 million to purchase an offshore wind lease in the Morro Bay Wind Energy Area off the Central California Coast for a 2-gigawatt offshore wind farm, with additional commitments of more than $30 million for workforce training, supply chain development, and benefits to local communities like fishermen’s associations. But on April 27, 2026, DOI announced it would terminate the lease in a secretive agreement with GSW that purportedly “settles” litigation that GSW never brought, challenging action that DOI never took. DOI claimed that unspecified national security concerns justified the cancellation, even though the federal government had already reviewed and approved the lease area after years of analysis and consultation with the U.S. Department of Defense.

California asserts that the cancellation of the Golden State Wind project will harm the State’s clean energy and climate goals and economy. Offshore wind is expected to play a role in this plan due to its potential to generate vast amounts of electricity from strong, consistent winds off California’s coast. 

Since federal offshore wind planning began off California's coast a decade ago, the state has invested significant resources in port readiness, transmission planning and stakeholder engagement. California has invested more than $100 million to ready California’s ports, transmission systems, and industries to support offshore wind generation, investments which may be lost if the Trump administration succeeds in halting offshore wind development. Cancelling these projects will also threaten good-paying union jobs, reliable infrastructure investment, and sustainable economic growth.

California’s Multi-Pronged Approach: Investigative Subpoenas

Today’s Notice of Intent to Sue is the next step in a multi-pronged action, California is taking to combat the Trump Administration’s attacks on our state’s offshore wind infrastructure. In May, the CEC served an administrative investigative subpoena to GSW seeking documents and information related to the company’s buyout deal with DOI. With the subpoena, CEC is protecting over $100 million in legislative and voter-approved investments in the State’s offshore wind industry by investigating the GSW buyout’s basis and impact on these public investments.

Following last week’s news that DOI entered into a similar buyout deal with Invenergy, CEC issued a similar administrative investigative subpoena to Invenergy on June 23, 2026. That subpoena demands a copy of the settlement agreement—which DOI has not made public—and information concerning its basis, negotiation, and impact.

According to the Department of the Interior, Invenergy has agreed to voluntarily relinquish four offshore wind leases, including the lease for its 2-gigawatt project Morro Bay project, as well as leases off the Maine and New York coasts. In exchange, the Chicago-based energy company would receive a $765 million taxpayer funded payout from the federal government and make an equivalent investment in U.S. natural gas and geothermal projects. Nationwide, this brings the total amount of taxpayer funds spent by the Trump Administration on offshore wind buyouts to nearly $2.6 billion—all to get power companies not to produce clean energy.

For nearly a decade, California has worked with federal agencies, developers, tribes, labor groups, ports, fishermen, local governments, and communities to prepare for offshore wind development. State agencies and taxpayers have made significant investments in planning and port readiness because developers said those investments were necessary to deliver these projects. If the federal government is funding buyouts, Californians who invested years of time, money, and effort preparing for these projects should not be left empty-handed while developers are rewarded for walking away. California will carefully review any and all investigative materials and act as appropriate to protect our communities and our clean energy future.

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About the California Energy Commission 
The California Energy Commission is the state's primary energy policy and planning agency, leading the state to a 100 percent clean energy future for all. It has seven core responsibilities: advancing state energy policy, encouraging energy efficiency, certifying power plants, investing in energy innovation, developing renewable energy, transforming transportation, and preparing for energy emergencies.