California has launched new legal action against the Trump administration over its decision to buy back an offshore wind lease from Invenergy, arguing that the agreement unlawfully undermines the state's offshore wind development plans.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta and California Energy Commission (CEC) Chair David Hochschild have issued a Notice of Intent to Sue the US Department of the Interior (DOI) and Invenergy over an agreement announced on 17 June 2026. Under the deal, the DOI will pay more than $111 million in federal funds to an Invenergy subsidiary to terminate its offshore wind lease in the Morro Bay Wind Energy Area off California's central coast. The company is also required to make an equivalent investment in fossil fuel or geothermal projects.

The lease buyout follows the DOI's $120 million purchase of the Golden State Wind LLC lease in the same offshore wind area. According to California, the Trump administration has committed $2.6 billion in taxpayer funds to buy back offshore wind leases nationwide.

California argues that the agreement violates the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), which gives coastal states a role in the federal offshore wind leasing process. The notice gives the DOI and Invenergy 60 days to address the alleged violations before the state files a lawsuit seeking to block the buyout.

The dispute concerns a lease acquired by Invenergy in 2022, when the company paid more than $111 million in a federal auction to develop an offshore wind project of up to 2 GW in the Morro Bay Wind Energy Area. The project also included commitments of more than $30 million for workforce training, supply chain development and benefits for local communities. California argues that the federal government had previously approved the lease area following years of review and consultation, making its subsequent cancellation unjustified.

The CEC noted that California has invested more than $100 million in ports, transmission infrastructure and other facilities to support offshore wind development. In 2024, the commission adopted a target of deploying 25 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2045, enough to supply electricity to around 25 million homes and provide approximately 13% of the state's electricity.

Separately, the attorneys general of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont also issued a joint Notice of Intent to Sue challenging three additional offshore wind lease buyouts involving Invenergy subsidiaries off the coasts of New York, New Jersey and Maine, with a combined value of $653 million.