California is threatening to sue the U.S. Department of the Interior over what state officials call an unlawful effort to halt offshore wind energy development off the state’s coast.
On Thursday, July 16, Attorney General Rob Bonta and California Energy Commission Chair David Hochschild sent a Notice of Intent to Sue the Department of the Interior and energy developer Invenergy. The notice challenges a June agreement in which the federal government agreed to pay an Invenergy subsidiary more than $111 million to give up its offshore wind lease in the Morro Bay Wind Energy Area.
State officials argue the agreement violates federal law by using taxpayer money to buy back a lease that had already been awarded through a competitive process.
“Using taxpayer money to strike backroom buyouts that make clean-energy projects disappear is illegal,” Bonta said in a statement.
The agreement also requires Invenergy to invest an equivalent amount in fossil fuel or geothermal projects, according to the state.
The dispute follows another federal agreement announced earlier this year to pay about $120 million for a separate offshore wind lease in the same area.
While the projects are planned for California’s Central Coast, state leaders say the outcome could affect communities across California, including the Northstate, by influencing the state’s long-term energy supply and clean energy goals.
The California Energy Commission has set a goal of generating 25 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2045, enough electricity to power about 25 million homes and provide roughly 13% of the state’s electricity. State officials also say the industry could create manufacturing, construction and infrastructure jobs throughout California.
California has already invested more than $100 million to prepare ports, transmission systems and other infrastructure to support offshore wind development. The state says Invenergy purchased the Morro Bay lease in 2022 for more than $111 million and committed additional funding for workforce development, supply chain improvements and community benefits before the federal government moved to cancel the project.
California argues the lease buyout violates the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, which governs offshore energy leasing and gives states a role in the federal process.
The Notice of Intent to Sue gives the Department of the Interior and Invenergy 60 days to address the state’s concerns before California files a lawsuit.
Attorneys general from Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont filed a separate notice Thursday challenging additional offshore wind lease buyouts announced by the federal government.
