Washington DC - German energy company RWE announced on Thursday that it is abandoning its offshore wind projects in the US after striking a deal with President Donald Trump's administration.

The company reached a $1.22 billion settlement with the US government to relinquish its offshore wind leases in the New York Bight and off the coasts of Louisiana and California, RWE said in a statement.

The company said that after having invested more than $1 billion in obtaining the leases and developing the planned farms, "it was determined there is no path forward to permit these projects in the US for the foreseeable future."

RWE said it would reinvest in gas projects in the US "to meet rapidly growing energy demand," promising to spend $900 million on a liquefied natural gas export terminal project in Louisiana and $300 million for flexible gas-fired power plants to meet peak electricity demands.

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More broadly, RWE plans to invest approximately $20 billion in the US over the next six years to increase its total power generation capacity from the current 13 GW to 22 GW by 2031.

Trump – a long-time skeptic of climate change and an aggressive supporter of the fossil fuel industry – has pushed to halt several offshore wind projects, with firms such as the French companies Engie and TotalEnergies having also abandoned projects in the US since his return to power in 2025.

Despite cancelling the projects, RWE noted it would maintain a strong international presence in offshore wind, with "18 offshore wind farms currently in operation, four under construction, and additional projects in development."