Ørsted Faces Crisis as Trump Blocks US Wind Farm Shares Plunge and UK Investments in Doubt

Britain’s leading wind farm operator, Ørsted, has been thrown into turmoil after Donald Trump halted its principal US project. The Danish energy giant, responsible for supplying 7 per cent of Britain’s electricity, saw its share price plummet to a record low after the Trump administration blocked progress on the £2.9bn Revolution wind farm off New England’s coast.

Analysts are warning that the Danish state—Ørsted’s majority owner—may be compelled to mount a rescue operation in a worst-case scenario. According to Pierre-Alexandre Ramondenc of AlphaValue, the stop-work order has been linked to Mr Trump’s ambitions regarding Greenland, Denmark’s territory, with the situation described as “political hostage-taking by the US administration.”

Recent events have cast severe doubt on Ørsted’s plan to raise 60bn kroner (£7bn) through a share sale, a strategy designed to cover an existing financial shortfall due to escalating project costs. The crisis threatens to hinder UK ambitions to accelerate offshore wind power, with Ørsted having already invested £15bn in UK wind operations and planning a similar sum—now uncertain—for future developments. On Monday, the company revealed it would not be participating in the next round of UK green energy subsidies, known as Allocation Round 7.

The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s decision to issue a stop-work order cited apprehensions about state-owned foreign companies operating American offshore wind farms. Ørsted’s Revolution project was already well advanced, with about 45 of its 65 turbines installed, but now the company faces an expensive dilemma: whether to keep contractors on site with hope for a policy reversal or to mothball the site at great cost.

The precedent is not encouraging. A similar order was imposed by the Trump administration on Norway’s Equinor in April, resulting in delays that cost that firm more than $700m. Analysts at Jefferies suggest substantial negative impacts if the current delay stretches on, including more impairments and challenges to Ørsted’s upcoming rights issue. The company’s valuation has dropped substantially, wiping out approximately £1.7bn in market capitalisation as shares fell by as much as 19 per cent in Copenhagen.

Only last year, Ørsted pulled out of two major US wind projects and halted work on the Hornsea Four site off Yorkshire. With the company now offloading its entire European onshore wind portfolio and its chief executive replaced in January, investor anxiety is acute. The Danish Finance Ministry has confirmed continued support for the fundraising. According to a company spokesperson, the rights issue is underwritten and is proceeding as planned, taking into account the volatility of the US market.

Repercussions will be felt beyond Ørsted’s finances. The stoppage jeopardises plans to decarbonise Britain’s grid by the end of the decade and will impact up to 400,000 homes in Rhode Island and Connecticut that the Revolution project was due to power. Regional leaders in both US states have vowed to challenge the order, warning that electricity bills may rise and years of public investment may go to waste.