Canceled Wind Deal Produces $900 Million Tailwind For Trump Donor

WASHINGTON—A federal settlement paying German energy company RWE $1.22 billion to abandon offshore wind leases will send $900 million into an investment purchased from a private-equity fund led by a donor who gave $1 million to President Trump’s inaugural committee.

RWE agreed to relinquish leases off New York, California, and Louisiana that could have produced about seven gigawatts of electricity, enough to power more than 5 million homes. The settlement requires the company to redirect the federal money into conventional energy. RWE selected a $900 million indirect stake in the Louisiana LNG project and reserved another $300 million for natural-gas turbines.

The LNG interest is being acquired from a fund managed by Stonepeak, whose co-founder and chief executive Michael Dorrell contributed $926,300 and then $73,700 to Trump’s inaugural committee after the 2024 election, according to federal filings reviewed by The Washington Post. Stonepeak had already committed $5.7 billion to the project. Woodside Energy, the majority owner, said the transaction would not change the project’s ownership structure, governance, or development plans.

The White House said administration officials had no role in RWE’s choice and called suggestions of a conflict of interest false. RWE said it independently chose an investment with a clear route to execution. The administration had determined the route’s starting point by paying the company to leave wind power and requiring the replacement destination to be oil, gas, or nuclear.

Federal wind-lease buybacks now total nearly $4 billion after courts impeded Trump’s effort to halt the industry by executive action. The canceled wind capacity will not produce electricity. The settlement money has already produced liquidity.