California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the California Energy Commission filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration and Golden State Wind LLC over the administration's cancellation of an offshore wind energy lease in federal waters off California's Central Coast.
The cancellation jeopardizes thousands of jobs and California's investments in the offshore wind industry, according to the state. Under the agreement, the U.S. Department of the Interior reallocated $120 million to pay Golden State Wind to abandon its lease in the Morro Bay Wind Energy Area and requires the company to invest an equal amount in out-of-state fossil-fuel projects.
In 2022, Golden State Wind paid the federal government $120 million to purchase the offshore wind lease for a 2-gigawatt wind farm, with additional commitments of more than $30 million for workforce training, supply chain development, and benefits to local communities including fishermen's associations. The Department of the Interior announced on April 27, 2026, that it would terminate the lease in what it described as a settlement agreement, claiming unspecified national security concerns justified the cancellation, even though the federal government had previously reviewed and approved the lease area.
California argues the deal violated the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, which limits the Department of Interior's ability to cancel offshore wind leases, and violated the Judgment Fund Act because the $120 million payment was not a settlement to resolve an existing lawsuit.
According to California's analysis, canceling the offshore wind projects threatens to deprive the state of more than 174,750 jobs and infrastructure investment. California has invested more than $100 million to ready its ports, transmission systems, and industries to support offshore wind generation.
Bonta said the state remains committed to developing offshore wind, noting that California's strategic plan calls for 25 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2045, which would be enough to power roughly 25 million homes and provide about 13 percent of the state's electricity supply.