Germany’s RWE, one of the leading offshore wind developers globally, has decided to halt its offshore wind projects in the United States for now, according to statements from CEO Markus Krebber.
His remarks, released ahead of RWE’s annual general meeting, signal a major setback for the U.S. offshore wind sector, which had seen significant momentum under former President Joe Biden’s administration but is now facing strong headwinds under President Donald Trump.
Donald Trump’s administration has taken an aggressive stance against the offshore wind industry, including ordering a suspension of offshore wind leasing on his first day in office, dismissing wind power as both unsightly and prohibitively expensive, Reuters news report said.
RWE holds three major offshore wind leases in U.S. waters, located off the coasts of New York, Louisiana, and California. The company’s move comes just a week after Norway’s Equinor announced it would halt construction of its Empire Wind I project off New York’s coast after receiving a stop-work order from U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, citing deficiencies in the project’s environmental analysis. In the prepared text for the upcoming annual meeting scheduled for April 30, Krebber confirmed that RWE had paused its offshore activities in the U.S., expressing caution due to the uncertain political climate.
Among RWE’s key U.S. initiatives is the 3-gigawatt Community Offshore Wind project, a joint venture with Britain’s National Grid, in which RWE holds a 73 percent stake. The project, located off New York’s coast, was vying for a state contract and was anticipated to start supplying electricity in the early 2030s, with the capacity to power more than a million homes.
RWE had invested heavily in this venture, paying $1.1 billion for the lease area in 2022. However, with operations now on hold, the future of this project hangs in the balance. Representatives from Community Offshore Wind were not immediately available to comment, nor were New York state officials, even though the state’s clean energy targets heavily rely on offshore wind developments.
The importance of the U.S. to RWE’s renewable energy portfolio is considerable, as about half of its installed renewable capacity is based there. The company had also secured a lease in the Gulf of Mexico — renamed the Gulf of America by the Trump administration — after being the sole bidder in a 2023 auction, paying just $5.6 million for rights off Louisiana’s coast. In California, RWE holds another lease for the Canopy Offshore Wind project, although that installation was not expected to be completed for about a decade.
Although RWE had already indicated last month that it had scaled back its U.S. offshore wind activities to a bare minimum, the latest remarks from Krebber make it clear that the company has now fully paused its efforts. Community Offshore Wind’s non-current assets are recorded at a carrying value of 1.31 billion euros, according to RWE’s annual report, highlighting the significant financial exposure the company now faces amid a rapidly shifting political and regulatory landscape in the U.S.