TotalEnergies to Renege on Wind Energy Contracts in Germany

French energy giant TotalEnergies looks set to pull out of a number of offshore wind contracts in Germany.

The revelation, published in German newspaper SZ on 19 May, comes just weeks after TotalEnergies was paid US$1bn by the Trump administration to scrap its offshore wind projects off the East Coast of the US.

SZ’s reporters say the energy major is reportedly seeking an exit from several German offshore wind leases it won in a 2023 state auction – sites for which it committed to paying around US$7bn.

For a company with ambitious 2030 carbon reduction targets and a 2050 net-zero goal, these moves seem counterintuitive and suggest a shift in operations back towards fossil fuels.

The company, however, insists it is “actively working on the realisation of our projects” but is seeking “practical solutions”.

Meanwhile, European grid operator TenneT has expressed concern.

Around 90% of the US$14.6bn raised in the 2023 auction was earmarked to fund the expansion of offshore power lines and converter stations connecting wind farms in the North and Baltic Seas to the mainland grid.

"If this doesn't happen, we fear that while our grid connections will be built on time, offshore wind farms that have already been auctioned could be delayed by several years," TenneT warns.

Germany's economy ministry has been blunt in its response, noting that under the current law, bidders have no legal right to withdraw and that it expects the projects to proceed.

But the legal grey area around the final investment decision, which is only triggered once an official grid connection date is set – a date that has not yet been announced – leaves the door ajar for an extended delay.

TotalEnergies in the US

The situation in Germany does not exist in isolation.

In March, the Trump administration struck a deal with TotalEnergies that saw the company relinquish two US offshore wind leases at Carolina Long Bay and in the New York Bight, representing a combined planned capacity of 4GW.

In return, Washington repaid almost US$1bn in lease fees from taxpayers' money.

TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné offered a candid justification for the decision.

"Considering that the development of offshore wind projects is not in the country's interest, we have decided to renounce offshore wind development in the United States, in exchange for the reimbursement of the lease fees," he said.

The company committed to redirecting the funds into US gas and power infrastructure, including financing the Rio Grande LNG plant in Texas.

Critics were not impressed.

Sam Salustro, SVP of Policy & Market Affairs at the Oceantic Network, described the arrangement as political theatre.

"Paying to remove affordable, homegrown energy out of the equation leaves American consumers struggling to pay their electricity bills," he said.

What TotalEnergies’ exit means

It is just one offshore wind project, but TotalEnergies’ decision could have some negative consequences for Germany's energy targets.

Right now, the country is aiming to reach 30GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030, but only around 10GW had been installed by the end of 2025.

The four projects from the 2023 auction round, due online between 2030 and 2032, alone account for 7GW of that gap. If TotalEnergies reneges on its contract, that figure will be slashed.

Furthermore, a 2025 auction round in Germany failed to attract a single bid, which speaks to the unpredictable nature of renewable energy auctions.

BWO, the offshore wind industry association, acknowledged this week that the situation now touches on “central questions of industrial continuity, security of supply and the energy policy credibility of Germany as an offshore location”.

For TotalEnergies – a company that exported 19 million tonnes of US LNG in 2025 alone – pivoting away from wind and back towards gas is not a dramatic leap.

But the scale of commitments now being unwound on both sides of the Atlantic signals real unrest in the energy transition.