By Anders Lorenzen

Orsted, the Danish wind energy giant and the world’s largest offshore wind operator have struggled to make the inroad into the US offshore wind market they had initially hoped and planned to. 

This week, the partly state-owned Danish company faced costly delays of $575 million after it had to push back the start of commercial operations at its Revolution Wind Project. The 704-megawatt (MW) offshore wind farm to be constructed off Rhode Island and Connecticut was pushed back from 2025 to 2026 due to a construction delay caused by soil contamination at an onshore transformer station. The onshore facilities are being developed on the site of a naval air station that was decommissioned in the 1970s. The land includes buried waste from the demolished former facility, according to project planning documents filed with the federal government.

The wider US offshore wind challenges

It is a bitter blow to both the Danish company, as well as the Biden Administration who are pinning big hopes on offshore wind as part of its clean energy strategy.

While having stabilised somehow since last year, the industry is still struggling with soaring costs, partly due to a significant increase in US interest rates, rising inflation and supply chain delays.

In the past month, planned offshore wind projects have been cancelled with an auction in the Gulf of Mexico shelved due to a lack of demand, and the latest US project was paused due to a shattered turbine blade which sent pieces of fibreglass washing up on nearby beaches. The project has been put on hold until an investigation has been concluded.

Last year, because of those soaring costs, Orsted was forced to cancel several offshore projects in the US, and related impairments surged above $4 billion. But Sunrise Wind at 924 MW is on track to complete in 2026 and will be the largest US offshore wind farm upon completion and is estimated to meet the electricity needs of 600,000 US households. However, that may not stand for long, as the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project at 2.6 GW is on track to be completed at the end of 2026.

The US currently have just 174 MW of offshore wind installed, well below the target to reach 30 gigawatts (GW) by 2030, though it does have 12 GW in advanced development. 

The US wind industry, onshore as well as offshore is concerned that another event could throw a spanner for the industry. If Donald Trump is to win the US Presidential Election on the 5th of November this year it could be a disaster for the industry. The climate change denier who is hostile to climate and clean energy policies, has a particular dislike for wind power and could make the conditions and the outlook for an industry already struggling much more dire.