On August 28, 2026, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the California Energy Commission sued the Trump administration and Golden State Wind LLC (GSW) to block an agreement terminating GSW’s offshore wind energy lease off California’s Central Coast. Under the agreement, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) would use $120 million in federal taxpayer funds to reimburse GSW for its wind energy lease and require the company to invest those funds in out-of-state fossil fuel projects. California argues that the agreement unlawfully abandons a major offshore wind project, jeopardizes state investments in clean energy infrastructure, and threatens thousands of jobs and economic development opportunities. 

In 2022, GSW paid the federal government $120 million for a lease in the Morro Bay Wind Energy Area to develop an offshore wind farm, while also committing more than $30 million toward workforce training, supply-chain development, and benefits for local communities. On April 27, 2026, DOI announced that it would terminate the lease through an agreement that purported to settle litigation that GSW had never filed. DOI cited unspecified national security concerns even though the federal government had previously reviewed and approved the lease area following years of analysis and consultation with the Department of Defense. California has invested more than $100 million in preparing its ports, transmission systems, and industries for offshore wind development and argues that cancellation of projects like GSW’s could threaten nearly 174,750 jobs and significantly delay the state’s offshore wind industry. 

The lawsuit alleges that the Trump administration’s agreement violates the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and the Judgment Fund Act. California argues that DOI lacks authority to cancel the offshore wind lease under these circumstances and that the administration cannot use the federal Judgment Fund to reimburse GSW because the payment does not resolve an actual lawsuit or legitimate claim against the federal government. California is asking the court to strike down the agreement and block the administration from implementing the lease cancellation and $120 million payment to GSW. 

The Trump Administration’s backroom buyout with Golden State Wind to stop offshore wind development in favor of gas and oil drilling is, unfortunately, a classic playbook for them to line the pockets of their Big Oil donors. Let’s be clear: California will continue to aggressively fight back against the Trump administration’s outrageous abuse of taxpayer dollars to abandon offshore wind investments that could have delivered union-paying jobs and reliable clean energy to Californians.Replace w/ Attorney General Rob Bonta