RWE will receive USD 1.22 billion for returning its offshore wind leases in the United States, the latest case in a systematic buy-back of projects by the US administration under President Donald Trump. The figure was reported by the German energy news service IWR in its weekly digest.
The payment marks another retreat for offshore wind in US federal waters, where the administration has moved to unwind leases and halt construction rather than let projects proceed. For developers, a lease buy-back converts a stalled, politically exposed asset into cash that can be redeployed elsewhere.
The picture is not uniformly negative. Ørsted’s Revolution Wind has resumed feeding power to the grid after earlier stop-work orders, and the Danish developer has now installed all turbines at its Greater Changhua 2b and 4 complex off Taiwan. Taken together, the moves show capital and equipment shifting away from the US market toward projects that can actually be built.
That reshuffling is where the Baltic connection lies. RWE is one of the largest offshore developers in the North Sea and the Baltic, and capital freed from cancelled US commitments is capital that can back European pipelines instead. As Washington pulls support, the contrast with Europe’s push — Germany’s WindSeeG reform, Denmark’s fresh tender awards, and the Baltic build-out — grows sharper.
