Orsted shareholders have approved plans for an €8bn rights issue to shore up funding for the 924MW Sunrise Wind project off the US east coast and to strengthen the company’s balance sheet.
The Danish developer announced that around 99% of shareholders had accepted the proposal at today’s (5 September) extraordinary general meeting and business update.
The move announced in early August already had the backing of the Danish state as majority shareholder following the “extraordinary situation” and adverse developments in relation to US offshore wind.
Chief executive Rasmus Errboe said widespread uncertainty among banks and investors had been the “triggering factor” in creating an “acute capital requirement” for the Sunrise project and for partial divestment plans to be abandoned.
Orsted reaffirmed its commitment to the rights issue following an order from the Trump administration on 25 August to halt work on its 704MW Revolution Wind project off Rhode Island.
The developer confirmed that a complaint had been filed in the US Court for the District of Columbia earlier this week to challenge the stop-work order and put the project, which is 80% complete, back on track for commissioning next year.
Errboe said the approved capital increase would “create a strong financial foundation” through to 2027 in the delivery of an 8.1GW offshore wind construction portfolio.
In a wider business update adjusted EBITDA guidance for 2025 excluding new partnerships and cancellation fees has been cut from between €3.35bn-€3.75bn to €3.21bn-€3.62bn.
Orsted said this was due to lower-than-normal wind speeds during July and August and a delay in the commissioning of the 300MW Greater Changhua 2b wind farm off Taiwan from later this year to the third quarter of 2026 due to a damaged export cable.
The company added the delay would not affect its planned divestment of a share in the wind farm, expected later this year, projected revenue nor the planned commissioning of Greater Changhua 4.