California challenging Trump’s Morro Bay wind energy opposition
California officials are challenging what they say is an unlawful agreement between the U.S. Department of Interior and power producer Invenergy that would thwart California’s offshore wind energy development off the Central Coast.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta and California Energy Commission Chair David Hochschild on July 16 sent the interior department a notice of intent to file a second lawsuit opposing the pact.
According to the state, under the agreement announced on June 17, the interior department will reallocate more than $111 million in federal taxpayer dollars to pay an Invenergy subsidiary to abandon its offshore wind energy lease in the Morro Bay Wind Energy Area.
The company is required to make an equivalent investment in fossil fuel or geothermal projects, state officials say.
“Using taxpayer money to strike backroom buyouts that make clean-energy projects disappear is illegal,” Bonta said in a press release.
“Make no mistake: California will continue to hold the Trump Administration accountable for illegally striking deals to kill offshore wind projects,” he said.
The interior department and Chicago-based Invenergy could not immediately be reached for comment.
