Orsted Cuts Guidance a Day After Initiating Legal Action Against Trump Administration — Update

By Dominic Chopping

Orsted cut its full-year earnings guidance on Friday following lower-than-normal offshore wind speeds during July and August, a day after it filed a court challenge to a U.S. stop-work order on a major project off the east coast.

The Danish renewable-energy company said the lower wind speeds across its offshore portfolio will impact earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization by around 1.2 billion Danish kroner ($187.3 million) this year. A construction delay at the Greater Changhua 2b offshore wind farm in Taiwan will also hit earnings by around 300 million kroner, it said.

Full-year Ebitda excluding new partnerships and cancellation fees is now expected at between 24 billion and 27 billion kroner, from previous guidance of 25 billion to 28 billion kroner.

Gross investments guidance of 50 billion to 54 billion kroner remains unchanged.

The news comes after Orsted began legal action against the Trump administration Thursday as it seeks to restart construction of an offshore wind farm that was halted by the government last month.

The company was ordered by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to stop work on it's nearly complete Revolution Wind project, a joint venture with Global Infrastructure Partner's Skyborn Renewables, that is being built off the coast of Rhode Island.

The bureau said it needed time to address concerns arising from a review commissioned by the Trump administration, which suspended new federal wind leases shortly after the president's inauguration.

Revolution Wind is 80% complete, with all offshore foundations and 45 of 65 wind turbines already installed. It was scheduled to become fully operational next year, when it was expected to produce enough energy to power 350,000 homes across Rhode Island and Connecticut.

"While Revolution Wind will continue to seek to work collaboratively with the Administration and other stakeholders toward a prompt resolution, it believes that BOEM lacked legal authority for the stop-work order and that the stop-work order's stated basis violated applicable law," Orsted said in a statement.

"The project is facing substantial harm from continuation of the stop-work order, and as a result, litigation is a necessary step."

The Trump administration has repeatedly criticized wind-energy and has taken steps to halt or delay projects. Recent legislation phases out tax credits for investing in and producing clean energy as well as for wind-energy components over several years.

Orsted's stop-work order follows a similar move by the administration against Norway's Equinor, which was forced tohalt work on its Empire Wind project off the New York coast earlier this year before the order was lifted a month later.

The development's come as Orsted prepares to raise $9.4 billion through a rights issue, seeking new funds to shore up its balance sheet.

Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 05, 2025 06:35 ET (10:35 GMT)