Orsted has reported an increase in operating profit for the first half of 2021 in its half year results, despite lower wind speeds across its portfolio.
Earnings before interest tax, amortisation and depreciation (EBITDA) amounted to Dkr13.1bn (€1.7bn), a Dkr3.3bn increase compared to the same period last year.
The increase was driven by a gain of Dkr5.4bn from the 50% farm-down of the Dutch offshore wind farm Borssele 1 & 2.
Earnings from Orsted’s offshore and onshore wind farms in operation were Dkr300m lower compared to the same period last year.
The increased generation capacity from new wind farms in operation was more than offset by significantly lower wind speeds across Orsted’s portfolio, the company said.
As expected, higher TNUoS tariffs due to more UK wind farms, lower earnings from Horns Rev 2 due to subsidy period ending in October 2020, and lower ROC recycle prices also had a negative impact.
Earnings from existing partnerships decreased by Dkr1.8bn compared with the same period last year.
The first half of 2020 saw high earnings from the construction agreement related to the Hornsea 1 transmission asset, whereas the first half of 2021 was negatively impacted by a warranty provision towards partners related to cable protection system issues at some of offshore wind farms, as announced earlier this year.
Orsted CEO Mads Nipper (pictured) said: “In the first half of 2021, we’ve delivered good operational performance, while reaching multiple significant milestones and engaging in a range of strategic partnerships.
“Within our Offshore business, Ocean Wind 2 was awarded a 1148MW contract in New Jersey, fully utilising our Ocean Wind lease area.
“Our total awarded US portfolio now exceeds 4 GW. We also entered into several new strategic partnerships in Norway, Korea, Scotland, and Japan.
“In our onshore business, we commissioned our combined solar PV and storage facility Permian Energy Center and our so far biggest onshore wind farm Western Trail, both located in Texas.”