Donald Trump Pays Off 5th Energy Company in Attack on Renewable Energy

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Washington, D.C. — Today, energy company RWE announced a deal with the Trump administration in which the administration will pay the company $1.22 billion in exchange for the company cancelling three offshore wind projects and doubling down on LNG.

This is the fifth time Donald Trump has paid off energy companies in order to kneecap offshore wind development in the United States. These secretive deals came after the courts overturned all five of his administration’s stop-work orders on offshore wind projects. The earlier deals are currently being challenged in court by attorneys general from coast to coast.

In response, Sierra Club Deputy Legislative Director Xavier Boatright issued the following statement: 

“Donald Trump is doing what he does best, striking secretive, backroom deals and buying his way out of losing. He’s using Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars to kill jobs, pollute our air and water, and drive up electricity costs even more. The tab is adding up: taxpayers are being forced to foot the bill for erasing progress toward affordable, reliable power—even as renewables proved their value during Winter Storm Fern and July’s heat waves.

“Offshore wind delivers cheap, reliable, and secure energy for hundreds of thousands of U.S. families. At a time when utility bills are at record highs, the Trump administration is doing nothing to actually lower costs. Instead they’re giving away billions of dollars to fossil fuel executives earning record profits. The Sierra Club will continue to fight back against these blatant attacks on renewable energy.”