By Christoph Steitz
FRANKFURT, April 25 (Reuters) – RWE, a leading player in the offshore wind sector from Germany, has hit pause on its U.S. projects due to recent regulatory shifts under the Trump administration, as shared by CEO Markus Krebber ahead of the company’s annual meeting.
This decision is a meaningful setback for the emerging offshore wind industry in the U.S.,which was once a cornerstone of former President Joe BidenS energy strategy but now faces opposition from his successor. RWE holds three leases for offshore wind development off New York, Louisiana, and California.
Krebber’s announcement follows news that Norwegian company Equinor also suspended work on its Empire Wind I project near New York after receiving a stop-work order from U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum over environmental concerns related to project approvals. “For now, we’ve halted our offshore activities in the U.S.,” Krebber stated in his remarks prepared for an upcoming general meeting on April 30. He expressed caution regarding ongoing political changes.
On his first day in office back in January, Trump initiated a freeze on new offshore wind leasing and criticized wind energy as unattractive and costly.
RWE’s portfolio includes the ambitious 3-gigawatt Community Offshore Wind project—a collaboration with Britain’s National Grid—aiming to provide power to over one million homes by early 2030s after securing $1.1 billion for lease rights last year.
New York state is counting heavily on offshore wind resources to meet its climate objectives; however, officials were unavailable for immediate comment regarding RWE’s current status or future plans.
interestingly enough, about half of RWE’s renewable capacity is situated within American borders. The firm was also notably the sole bidder during a recent auction for Gulf of Mexico development rights—now dubbed Gulf of America by Trump—landing a lease off Louisiana at just $5.6 million.
Additionally,RWE has another venture called Canopy Offshore Wind planned off Northern California; however,this initiative won’t see completion until around ten years down the line.
Last month marked an acknowledgment from Germany’s largest power producer that it had significantly reduced its activities related to U.S.-based offshore projects without completely shelving them yet. According to their annual report, Community Offshore Wind holds non-current assets valued at approximately €1.31 billion ($1.49 billion).
($1 = 0.8804 euros)
(Reporting by Christoph Steitz in Frankfurt and Nichola Groom in San Marino, California; Editing by Miranda Murray and Ludwig Burger)
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2025
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