California Sues Over Trump
Deal to Cancel Wind Project Lease
Alison Prang / Bloomberg Environment
(August 28, 2026) — California sued the Trump administration and Golden State Wind over the federal government’s deal with the company to cancel an offshore wind project lease, alleging the transaction violated multiple federal laws.
Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) and the California Energy Commission argue the administration’s $120 million deal with Golden State Wind to cancel the project violates the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, the Judgment Fund Act, and other statutes, according to a Friday press release from Bonta’s office. The state is asking the court to stop the deal from being implemented and to strike down the agreement, according to the release.
California filed the suit in the US District Court for the Northern District of California.
Bonta, in a statement, called the administration’s deal a “backroom buyout” and “a classic playbook for them to line the pocket of their Big Oil donors,” while CEC Chair David Hochschild said growing the clean energy sector lowers pollution and also brings jobs.
“We will not let the Trump administration’s reckless actions turn back the clock,” Hochschild said in the release. “California’s clean energy future is worth fighting for. See you in court.”
A spokesperson for the Department of the Interior said in an email the agency didn’t have a comment “due to pending litigation.” Golden State Wind and one of its parent companies, Ocean Winds, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit against the Trump administration is one of dozens California has filed against the federal government since President Donald Trump took office. It’s also the latest instance of a state suing the administration over deals it’s inked with energy companies to kill their offshore wind leases.
Golden State Wind bought the lease for the wind project off the coast of central California’s Morro Bay in an auction in 2022. The Trump administration’s Department of the Interior announced it reached a deal with Golden State Wind to end the lease in late April, at which point the company was still early in developing the wind farm.
The 2-gigawatt project is supposed to bring supply chain and workforce development and help the fishing industry, Bonta’s office said in the release.
The state in June informed the administration of its intent to sue the federal government over the deal. That same month, New York and several other states sued the Trump administration over a similar deal it made with TotalEnergies SE to kill two offshore wind leases off the East Coast.
Hochschild, during a press conference Friday, said it’s worth studying what happened with various offshore wind projects on the East Coast where work was halted but are now back to being built.
“We hope and expect a similar outcome with the attacks on our projects here,” he said.
Golden State Wind and other companies that have netted deals with the Trump administration to end their offshore wind leases have in turn agreed to invest in oil and gas projects.
As part of the deal with Golden State Wind, the company would be able to recover the $120 million in fees after investing the same amount of money in energy infrastructure or fossil fuel projects in the Gulf Coast area, Interior said when it announced the deal.
The case is California v. Department of the Interior, N.D. Cal., No. 3:26-cv-09123, complaint filed 8/28/26
(Updates story starting in third paragraph with court lawsuit was filed in, attempts to reach defendants for comment, and comments from Hochschild during press conference.)
