Orsted has run into delays at the 2852MW Hornsea 3 and 913MW Borkum Riffgrund 3 (pictured) projects off the UK and Germany, respectively.
Chief executive Rasmus Errboe has blamed the hold ups on delays from the grid operators in the two countries.
National Grid informed Orsted that the onshore connection for Hornsea 3 would be delayed by two months, and Orsted has pushed back the expected COD for the array from second half of 2027 to the fourth quarter of that year or the first quarter of 2028.
Errboe told reporters on a conference call following the publication of Q1 results that “as a consequence of that we have to be cautious” with the COD projection.
He added that there will be no meaningful financial impact for the project.
In Germany the commissioning of turbines at Borkum Riffgrund 3 is going slower than expected, Errboe said, mainly due to curtailment and unplanned outages on the German grid.
Orsted has pushed back the full commissioning by at least four months to August–September 2026 from May, it is understood.
“Due to the relatively high prices in Germany right now and so on, this will not have any effect on our numbers meaningfully, also not on EBITDA,” Errboe told reporters.
The project has commissioned 64 of the projects 83 turbines.
Errboe said that the delays underscore the importance of grid upgrades across Europe as more renewables are added to the continent’s energy mix.