Danish Ørsted abandons Hornsea 4 offshore wind farm in the UK

This is a setback for the UK's clean energy development targets.

"The 4 MW Hornsea 2.400 project has faced several adverse developments, including continued increases in supply chain costs, rising interest rates and increased construction and operational risks (...) (which) have increased execution risk and impaired the project's value creation," Ørsted said in a statement.

The group, which was expected to make its final decision on Hornsea 4 later this year, already operates the Hornsea 1 and 2 offshore wind farms and is developing Hornsea 3.

The combined capacity of the three is expected to exceed 5 GW. The future largest offshore site in operation, it is expected to supply energy to some 5,7 million British homes.

"We will retain the rights to the Hornsea 4 project in our development portfolio and will seek to develop it further in a way that creates greater value for us and our shareholders," said group CEO Rasmus Errboe, quoted in the press release.

London has said it wants to relaunch the project with Ørsted.

"We recognize the impact that high global inflation and supply chain constraints are having on industry across Europe," said a spokesperson for the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change.

"We will work with Ørsted to get Hornsea 4 back on track," he added.

The group estimates that its withdrawal will cost it between 3 and 3,5 billion crowns, to be recorded in the second quarter of 2025.

The announcement comes as Ørsted, weakened by its difficulties in the United States and a certain slump in wind power, is tightening its belt.

This decision "shows that Ørsted is absolutely obliged to prioritize the economy in its projects. When they see that it doesn't work, they have to move on," analyst Jacob Pedersen told the business daily Børsen.

In the first quarter of 2025, Ørsted, however, remained on course, almost doubling its net profit to 4,8 billion crowns (655 million euros).

Lower than the consensus forecast of 21,73 billion crowns established by Factset, its turnover amounted to 20,7 billion, an increase of 8% over one year.

A former oil and gas giant, Ørsted is one of the first, and few, to have radically transformed itself to become a specialist in renewable energies.

A historic champion of offshore wind power - it opened the world's first offshore wind farm in 1991 - the group is affected by rising costs and financing problems, difficulties that affect the entire sector.