The Trump administration's settlement with the German energy company RWE pays $1.2 billion from a federal fund on the condition that RWE surrender its offshore wind leases off New York, California and Louisiana and invest the money in oil, gas or nuclear projects instead. The Washington Post reported on August 27, 2026 that $900 million of it will be spent buying a stake in a Louisiana liquefied natural gas project, and that the stake is being bought from a private equity fund run by Australian-American billionaire Michael Dorrell.
Dorrell is the co-founder and CEO of Stonepeak. He gave $926,300 to the Trump Vance Inaugural Committee two weeks after the 2024 election and another $73,700 weeks later, according to federal filings. He owns an 11-bedroom mansion on a private island near Mar-a-Lago and has spoken publicly about socializing at the club. “It must be three wood from Mar-a-Lago,” he said at a business conference this year, adding of the club: “You're sitting 15 meters from the president and it's a cast of characters.”
Every party denies the connection influenced anything, and those denials should be recorded plainly. The Interior Department, which negotiated the settlement, said, “No one at the Department directed which company RWE was to invest in. No one at the Department has been in contact with Stonepeak or its ownership,” and noted the agreements are voluntary and that RWE initiated the conversation. White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers called the story “a brazen attempt to insinuate a conflict-of-interest that does not exist.” RWE said it made its plans independently. Stonepeak said it “did not have any contact with the government around the RWE transaction and there is no basis in fact whatsoever to insinuate personal political giving influenced” its business. The settlement agreement does not mention Stonepeak; it requires only that funds go to “Conventional Energy Projects.” No violation has been established.
What the reporting does establish is what the money does. Analysts told the Post the transaction does not appear to put new money into the LNG project. Stonepeak had already invested $5.7 billion, and the purchase mainly lets Dorrell's firm reduce its exposure to a project industry reports treat as risky, since most of its gas is not yet under contract and analysts warn of a possible market glut by the time it comes online. Ira Joseph of Columbia's Center on Global Energy Policy: “In terms of the pure volume of gas or energy that will be created, this does not add anything.” Woodside Energy, the majority owner, said the deal has “no impact on Louisiana LNG.”
The payouts began after courts rejected the administration's attempt to block wind leases on the theory that offshore wind would interfere with military operations. They now total nearly $4 billion and have voided a dozen leases. Rep. Jared Huffman, ranking Democrat on House Natural Resources, said the settlements were “already an insane waste of taxpayer funds” and that the Dorrell link “now adds the stench of corruption.” He said he will expand an existing probe and is warning the companies: “You better tell your shareholders we are coming for that money. I would not even cash the check.” Several states are challenging the settlements in a federal suit filed in June (see The Interior Department Is Paying Energy Companies Billions to Cancel Offshore Wind Projects and Invest in Fossil Fuels Instead and The Trump Administration Pays Bluepoint Wind and Golden State Wind Nearly $900 Million to Cancel Two Offshore Wind Projects After a Federal Judge Ruled the Wind Ban Unlawful).