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Nine states challenge offshore wind lease buyouts in separate lawsuits

Eight eastern states sued over two federal offshore-wind lease buyouts totaling about $1.4 billion, while California separately challenged a more-than-$111-million buyout off its coast. These are pending legal challenges, not restored projects or a ruling on the merits.

By Greener Numbers Editorial Team · Published September 26, 2026 · Updated 9/27/2026

Eight eastern states, led by New York, filed two lawsuits on September 22 challenging federal deals that would cancel four offshore-wind projects. New York Attorney General Letitia James said the disputed payments total about $1.4 billion: $765 million tied to Bluepoint Wind's lease off New York and New Jersey, and $653 million tied to three Invenergy leases. The states are New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Vermont. These are allegations in active litigation, not a court finding that the deals were unlawful.

California filed a separate lawsuit on the same day over an Invenergy lease in the Morro Bay Wind Energy Area. California Attorney General Rob Bonta said that agreement would pay more than $111 million in federal funds to cancel the lease. The state argues the arrangement bypasses offshore-leasing and federal-spending requirements; the lawsuit asks a court to stop it. California is the ninth state in the concurrent challenges, not a party to both eastern suits.

The New York statement says the four projects covered by its two suits had expected capacity of more than eight gigawatts, while the two New York projects alone were expected to bring more than $16 billion of investment. Those are planned capacity and projections, not electricity already delivered or money guaranteed to reach consumers. California described its canceled lease as having potential for up to two gigawatts and raised concerns about port and workforce investments.

The source brief cited nearly $4 billion in broader lease-cancellation agreements as though that amount was all being challenged in these lawsuits. The September 22 state statements support a narrower accounting: about $1.4 billion in the eastern suits and more than $111 million in California's separate suit. The states' legal claims and cost or reliability warnings still require scrutiny in court and should not be read as settled impacts on household bills.

Sources: New York Attorney General, September 22, 2026: https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2026/attorney-general-james-and-governor-hochul-announce-lawsuit-challenging-trump ; California Attorney General, September 22, 2026: https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/during-climate-week-attorney-general-bonta-announces-second-lawsuit-challenging

Official source: Gemini Daily Brief Bridge ↗