RWE U.S. Offshore reaches settlement agreement with U.S. Department of Interior on offshore wind leases

RWE U.S. Offshore reaches settlement agreement with U.S. Department of Interior on offshore wind leases

PR Newswire

  • RWE U.S. Offshore has entered into a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Interior for an amount of U.S. $1.22 billion
  • The agreement includes a relinquishment of RWE’s U.S. offshore wind leases in New York Bight, off the coast of California, and off the coast of Louisiana
  • RWE Americas continues to strategically invest in energy projects that respond to the urgency of the current energy landscape while building the capacity needed to meet future demand

AUSTIN, Texas and ESSEN, Germany, Aug. 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — RWE U.S. Offshore has reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of the Interior to resolve claims against the U.S. government and relinquish its offshore wind leases off the coasts of New York, California, and Louisiana. The settlement enables RWE to redeploy its capital to accelerate value-accretive opportunities that deliver reliable and affordable energy.

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RWE U.S. Offshore secured these leases from the U.S. government with a long-term commitment to develop offshore wind capacity in American waters and invested more than $1 billion toward the leases and the development of these projects. These leases provided legal rights to develop offshore projects and represented years of planning, investment, and partnership with federal agencies.

After careful consideration, it was determined there is no path forward to permit these projects in the U.S. for the foreseeable future. The settlement resolves RWE U.S. Offshore’s legal claims and provides $1.22 billion in settlement funds. The company determined that this resolution best serves the interests of its stakeholders and allows it to direct resources toward energy projects that can be advanced with certainty.

RWE Americas and its affiliates will continue to deploy capital across the U.S. to meet rapidly growing energy demand, including:

  • LNG infrastructure: a financial investment of $900 million to acquire an indirect 16% stake in the Louisiana LNG Project. RWE proceeds will be used to fund the construction of the terminal.
  • Natural gas turbine reservations: To support the expansion of its growing flexible power generation work in the U.S., RWE Americas has signed a $300 million turbine reservation agreement securing future generating capacity to meet growing U.S. electricity demand. The company is developing a pipeline of 15 natural gas peaking projects across target markets in the U.S.

These investments will help deliver affordable, reliable energy solutions while supporting American jobs, enhancing grid reliability, and strengthening energy security.

In addition, RWE Americas has announced plans to invest approximately €17 billion in the U.S. over the next six years to grow its generation capacity from approximately 13 GW across 27 states today to 22 GW by 2031. In 2025 alone, RWE Americas commissioned 2 GW of new power generation capacity in the United States.

RWE remains focused on growing its offshore activities globally. RWE is one of the world’s leading offshore wind developers with 18 offshore wind farms currently in operation, four under construction, and additional projects in development – including 6.9 GW of capacity secured in the UK’s most recent offshore wind auction.

Note for editors:
Prior to the settlement with the DOI, RWE acquired National Grid Ventures (~27%) minority ownership interest in the joint venture Community Offshore Wind. 

For enquiries:

Vera Bücker

Stephanie Cathcart

RWE AG

RWE Americas

Head of Media Relations

VP, Communications

International & Finance

M +49 (0) 162 251 73 29

T +1 512 979 3190

vera.buecker@rwe.com

E stephanie.cathcart@rwe.com 

RWE 
RWE is leading the way to a modern energy world. With its investment and growth strategy, RWE is contributing significantly to the success of the energy transition and the decarbonisation of the energy system. Around 20,000 employees work for the company in over 20 countries worldwide. RWE is one of the leading companies in the field of renewable energy. RWE is investing billions of euros in expanding its generation portfolio, in particular in offshore and onshore wind, solar energy and batteries. It is perfectly complemented by its global energy trading business. Thanks to its integrated portfolio of renewables, battery storage and flexible generation, as well as its broad project pipeline of possible new builds, RWE is well positioned to address the growing global demand for electricity, particularly driven by further electrification and artificial intelligence. RWE is decarbonising its business in line with the 1.5-degree reduction pathway and will phase out coal by 2030. RWE will be net zero by 2040. Fully in line with the company’s purpose – Our energy for a sustainable life.

Forward-looking statements 

This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements reflect the current views, expectations and assumptions of management, and are based on information currently available to management. Forward-looking statements do not guarantee the occurrence of future results and developments and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual future results and developments may deviate materially from the expectations and assumptions expressed in this document due to various factors. These factors primarily include changes in the general economic and competitive environment. Furthermore, developments on financial markets and changes in currency exchange rates as well as changes in national and international laws, in particular in respect of fiscal regulation, and other factors influence the company’s future results and developments. Neither the company nor any of its affiliates undertakes to update the statements contained in this press release.

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SOURCE RWE