Trump pays French company $1 billion to cut wind energy just in time for energy crisis

U.S. President Donald Trump answered questions from members of the press as he departed the White House. Washington, DC U.S (Left) Wind farm on the mountain, blue sky and white clouds (Right). Images via Shutterstock.

As gas prices skyrocket due to the energy crisis caused by President Donald Trump’s war on Iran, the White House has agreed to pay almost $1 billion to halt the construction of wind farms off the East Coast.

In a deal the New York Times called “unusual,” the Trump administration has compelled the French energy conglomerate TotalEnergies to forfeit its lease for wind farms that were to be built off the coasts of New York and North Carolina by promising to reimburse the company the $928 million it paid during the previous administration.

As the Times notes, the deal comes at a moment when the United States is grappling with its most substantial energy crisis in half a century,

“The deal is an extraordinary transfer of taxpayer dollars to a foreign company for the purposes of boosting the production of fossil fuels, a main driver of climate change, while throttling offshore wind power,” says the Times. “It comes as the war in the Middle East has shocked global oil markets, prompting concerns about energy supplies.”

The project’s cancellation puts a fine point Trump’s stated ire toward wind farms, which he has espoused frequently over the past decade.

“I’m proudly telling you that we’re going to try and have no windmills built in the United States during my” administration, Trump said last week.

Since retaking office, Trump has spearheaded numerous attempts to roll back efforts to develop wind energy, including ending subsidies and attempting to block new construction. While TotalEnergies decided to accept the billion-dollar deal, other projects have successfully sued the administration to have their permits reinstated.

As the Times points out, “Some experts have argued that investments in renewable energy, including wind and solar power, can help countries protect against the volatility of oil prices, particularly during wartime.”

Trump has long borne a public hatred for wind energy, making wide-ranging, baseless claims that they cause cancer, are loud eyesores, kill “all the birds,” and are “driving whales crazy.” He has spoken against wind turbines since at least 2012, when he attempted to prevent the construction of a wind project off the coast of his Scottish golf course by claiming they would hurt the country’s tourism. When asked what evidence he had to support such a claim, his response was characteristic.

“I am the evidence,” he told the Scottish Parliament.

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