NY AGs Sue Interior Dept Over $1B Wind Farm Bribe
SkimNews Take
The Interior Department's payment to halt a specific offshore wind project, rather than addressing broader permitting or regulatory challenges, suggests an ad hoc approach to energy transition rather than a systematic policy framework.
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- New York state announced a lawsuit against the Department of the Interior for an illegal $1 billion payment to a foreign oil company that halted an offshore wind farm off the New York coast.
- The wind farm project would have saved New Yorkers $10 billion and created 1,700 jobs before it was stopped.
- The Department of the Interior under Doug Burgum gave $1 billion in taxpayer money to a foreign oil company to block development of two wind farms, one off New York and another off the Carolinas, citing a fabricated national‑security reason.
- New York Attorney General Letitia James and six other state attorneys general filed the lawsuit today, which targets only the New York wind project and does not cover the Carolina portion.
Why it matters: New Yorkers lose potential $10 billion in savings and 1,700 jobs, while the federal government faces legal exposure over the $1 billion payment. The suit focuses only on the New York project, leaving the Carolina wind farm unchanged.
