The following is attributable to Rob Freudenberg, Vice President of Energy & Environment at RPA:

Today’s announcement that New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut are joining four other states in a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s payoff to French energy company Total Energies to abandon its offshore wind lease areas couldn’t come at a better time.

As residents across the most densely populated region in the country face a summer of historic extreme heat and struggle to afford ever-increasing energy bills for power that is forecast to become less reliable, offshore wind remains one of the most effective and affordable energy sources we can build in time to meet rapidly growing demand. Governors Kathy Hochul, Ned Lamont and Mikie Sherrill and the three states’ Attorneys General understand that clean, affordable energy is worth fighting for, and that the actions of the federal government to try and erase lease areas is illegal and puts our region at great risk.

As current global conflicts and the worsening affordability crisis make clear, our best future is not one that is tied to fossil fuels. That model has failed us and it is only getting worse. The alternative - a future built on clean, domestic energy like offshore wind - can usher in cleaner air and healthier communities, stable energy prices, reliable power when we most need it, and thousands of well-paid jobs built on new regional industries.

Sometimes the risk of losing something helps us realize how well things were going. Residents of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut were just beginning to see the benefits of offshore wind when the Trump administration launched an assault on the industry. This is the moment to fight for what we need and have worked so hard to put in place. It marks the turning point toward the better future we had in our grasp, powering healthy communities with clean, domestically produced energy.