The California Energy Commission (CEC) issued an administrative investigative subpoena to Golden State Wind LLC on May 4, 2026, seeking records on its agreement with the U.S. Department of the Interior to abandon its offshore wind lease off the Central Coast of California.

Golden State Wind LLC agreed to voluntarily end Lease OCS-P 0564 in the Morro Bay Wind Energy Area and to forego future offshore wind development in exchange for a repayment of $120 million in lease fees. The company will receive the payment after it makes equal oil and gas investment outside of California.

California is evaluating potential legal action related to the lease buyouts, marking a significant escalation in tensions between California and the Trump administration over energy policy and offshore wind development along the Pacific Coast.

Golden State’s lease buyout is part of the Trump administration policy to stop offshore wind energy development. In January 2025, President Donald Trump temporarily withdrew the Federal Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) from offshore wind leasing and calls for a review of the Federal government’s leasing and permitting practices for wind energy projects. In August 2025, the Trump administration issued a series of orders to end offshore wind leasing in U.S. federal waters. A group of states challenged these actions.

The investigation over the lease buyout indicates the growing concern within California that federal actions could undermine the state’s long-term clean energy and climate objectives. Offshore wind is part of the CEC’s strategic plan to meet the state’s goal of 100% clean electricity by 2045. That plan calls for two to five gigawatts (GW) of floating offshore wind capacity by 2030 and 25 GW by 2045.

Golden State Wind had planned a 2-gigawatt offshore wind project in the Morro Bay Wind Energy Area capable of supplying electricity to approximately 1.1 million homes. The project was one of five offshore wind developments proposed for California federal waters. The lease areas were part of the Biden administration’s national target of 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030.