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  • Hacker News
  • Quick! Back to the other thread! I've spotted somewhere DOGE could recoup $1.2B
    by glaslong
  • Can I also threaten to build an offshore wind project if they don't pay me $1.2 billion?
    by inigyou
  • Only if you are willing to be harassed by Trump for as long as he and his sons live.
    by b3lvedere
  • These guys had already signed a deal to build - giving them permission and probably an agreed price - the money was to persuade them to give that up.
    by londons_explore
  • I wish I had not read this. I am not kidding when I say this is ruining my day thinking about. One thing is they ruin our times. But they are in the game of ruining the rest of time for humankind, too.
    by ebri
  • More and more it seems like we're trying to do a speed run of killing our planet (or rather a planet worth living on).
    by flyingjoe
  • As well as all the other species.
    by niek_pas
  • Situation is quite different than the article paints it. The venture was risky to begin with, and already dead in 2026. Subsidies are gone, GE didn't produce their new 18MW turbine, interest rates and construction costs went up etc. State bureaucracy is its own quagmire, the fact that federal admin turned hostile was just the cherry on top.

    Current deal is pretty clean and a win for both parties. US gov won't be drawn into a lengthy trial, RWE gets their money back, US gets a similar value investment, RWE gets a safer investment and a likely friendly government. US made some 40mil from the deal, or more likely 1-200 mil considering inflation; on the other hand RWE didn't lose their whole investment.

    by radu_floricica
  • why was the venture risky?
    by nielsbot
  • What about the several other projects in progress? What about the ones that were completed? They all had risk factors.
    by tencentshill
  • This is beyond my understanding. They are actually paying to stop society from advancing.
    by r0b05
  • Welcome to American conservatism.
    by MisterBastahrd
  • The epitome of conservatism.
    by sebnukem2
  • As Republican commentator Bill Buckley put it, "A conservative is someone who stands athwart history, yelling Stop."

    The rest of the quote is actually about how it's meant to give people time to think, but it has clearly become an autonomic action.

    by jfengel
  • And because I love the game of explaining direct costs: every single taxpayer just paid $10 for this.

    Of course, since our government is flat broke, it's going to be more from interest on the debt.

    by Tadpole9181
  • To be fair, this seems consistent with what they normally do, and arguably consistent with what their voters want.
    by fnordsensei
  • Trump holds a grudge against wind turbines, for no other reason than that they "ruined" the view at a golf course / club he owns in Scotland. He tried to get them removed, but lost that case in court.

    That's mostly it. Another factor would be Trump getting donations from the oil & gas industry.

    by TrackerFF
  • Because the money they are spending and the money they will be making comes and ends in different pockets.
    by kuu
  • Hopefully they take the money and use to to build more wind turbines in Europe I guess.

    Absolutely shameful what the USA has become.

    by eigenspace
  • >RWE said that it will now reinvest the sum into conventional gas projects, including $900m (£669m) in a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal project in Louisiana.
    by evan_a_a
  • The USA is governed by evil people, and the people of the nation are too stupid and expecting someone else to stop them. Plain as day light.
    by bsenftner
  • Not evil, just dumb.
    by ghosty141
  • It really is. “This is bad. When will someone stop us?”
    by gilrain
  • I'm baffled why Germany would allow this, you'd think they and the rest of Europe would understand the importance of energy independence at this point.
    by wookmaster
  • 149 days until Jan 3, when new representatives are seated.
    by ourmandave
  • Honestly, despite having a wife from the US (not an US citizen anymore), I agree with you.

    It is really weird to me that such a thing as lobbying can be legal. Or the fact that you can donate to an election campaign so that they have more money to influence people.

    And it is even more surprising that the vast majority of US people don't even question these things. I have the theory that American exceptionalism hinders their critical thinking when it comes to these kind of subjects. Ie "If we decided to do it like this, it means is the best way possible".

    by marcyb5st
  • In the USA's defence, the system that put these gangsters in charge also gives it a shot at changing course in a couple of years.
    by squidbeak
  • No, we're not expecting someone else to stop it. We voted for this. The evil is not imposed on us. It is us.

    Not everyone, but a majority. The minority is looking for ways to stop it, but it requires getting literally everyone else to work together. Which means any disagreement among them results in a loss, and more of the same evil.

    by jfengel
  • Meanwhile China is becoming entirely energy independent and electrifying their economy. I don't understand how the US doesn't see that they won't be top dog forever especially in this multipolar age.
    by satvikpendem
  • The US government is undoubtedly aware that renewables are the future.

    I assume they're still cooking up a backup plan to the petrodollar system and it will be business as usual until they have one.

    Expect the US to double down with weird gestures like this and to find ways to remind the world that oil is relevant for some time.

    by randusername