Today California once again threatened to sue the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) for what it claims was an illegal buyout of a company that had previously agreed to develop a wind farm energy project off of the coast of Morro Bay, CA. That company, Invenergy, was also threatened in the potential lawsuit.
Photo Credit: U.S. Department of the Interior
The Notice of Intent to Sue - PDF was sent by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and California Energy Commission (CEC) Chair David Hochschild. They claim that DOI violated the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act by illegally reallocating more than $111 million in federal taxpayer dollars to pay a subsidiary of Invenergy to abandon its offshore wind energy project and make an equivalent investment in geothermal and fossil fuel projects elsewhere.
DOI announced the agreement with the Invenergy subsidiary on June 17, 2026.
California previously filed a similar Notice of Intent to Sue last month related to a previous buyout of another company by DOI for a project in the same offshore area. That buyout of $120 million was with Golden State Wind LLC, which we previously reported on here.
It is not only California offshore wind energy developments that have been affected by these federal actions. Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont also sent a joint Notice of Intent to Sue - PDF today to challenge additional lease buyouts between DOI and Invenergy subsidiaries that were announced at the same time. Those taxpayer-funded buyout deals cover three leases off the coasts of New York, New Jersey and Maine at a total cost of $653 million.
“Using taxpayer money to strike backroom buyouts that make clean-energy projects disappear is illegal,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. "Make no mistake: California will continue to hold the Trump Administration accountable for illegally striking deals to kill offshore wind projects.”
“This unlawful agreement is another reckless attempt by the Trump Administration to deny Californians the benefits of offshore wind,” said California Energy Commission Chair David Hochschild. “Offshore wind isn’t just about domestic, clean energy – it’s about creating the good-paying jobs and industries of the future.”
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