Home Economy Economic Activity Orsted shareholders approve $9.4B rights issue amid threats to U.S. offshore wind...

Orsted shareholders approve $9.4B rights issue amid threats to U.S. offshore wind projects

By

PBN Staff

-

09/05/2025

Offshore-wind — REVOLUTION WIND developer Orsted A/S won shareholder approval for its emergency $9.4 billion rights issue Friday as President Donald Trump threatens U.S. offshore wind projects. / ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL DWYER

PROVIDENCE – Revolution Wind developer Orsted A/S won shareholder approval for its emergency $9.4 billion rights issue Friday, as the Danish company fights President Donald Trump’s efforts to derail U.S. offshore wind projects. During a general meeting in Copenhagen, 98.5% of the votes were in favor of issuing the new shares, according to The Financial

Already a Subscriber? Log in

To Continue Reading This Article

Become a Providence Business News subscriber and get immediate access to all of our premier content and much more.

Learn More and Become a Subscriber

Critical RI business news and analysis updated daily.
1 year of print (26 issues).
Unlimited access to all subscriber only content on our website, on any device.
Free email alerts.
Annual Book of Lists Print Edition.
All special issues produced during subscription term.

Click Here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article

PBN Branded Content

Facing the Holidays with a Cancer Diagnosis

The holidays are often painted as a time of joy, tradition, and togetherness. But for…

Learn More

No posts to display

LEAVE A REPLY Cancel reply

PROVIDENCE – Revolution Wind developer Orsted A/S won shareholder approval for its emergency $9.4 billion rights issue Friday, as the Danish company fights President Donald Trump's efforts to derail U.S. offshore wind projects. During a general meeting in Copenhagen, 98.5% of the votes were in favor of issuing the new shares, according to The Financial Times. Orsted originally asked for the rights issue on Aug. 11 after the company’s shares fell to a then-record low $33.31 per share. However, shares plunged even further to $28.12 per share on Aug. 25 after the federal Ocean Energy Management issued the stop-work order to Revolution Wind on Aug. 23. The federal agency citied both national security and environmental concerns in issuing the order. Two-thirds of the capital raised from the new shares are earmarked for the Sunrise Wind project 14.5 nautical miles from Block Island, Reuters reported. Potential investors fled that project after the Trump administration ordered Norway’s Equinor, which owns a 10% stake in Orsted, to stop work on that wind farm in April. The stop-work order was lifted in May. Orsted CEO Rasmus Errboe told Reuters the company is incurring weekly costs of $15.7 million in its 50% stake of Revolution Wind, which is co-owned with Skyborn Renewables. "We have extensive dialogue with all stakeholders in Washington and at the state level," Errboe said to Reuters. Errboe also warned costs could climb higher by October, if specialized vessels contracted to install the remaining substation and cables are no longer available within their contracted period, forcing Orsted to re-enter the market at potentially much higher rates. Orsted filed a complaint in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Thursday challenging the stop-work order for Revolution Wind and plans to follow with a preliminary injunction. R.I. Attorney General Peter F. Neronha, with Conn. Attorney General William Tong, filed a federal lawsuit Thursday challenging the stop-work order as well. “[The Trump administration] lacked legal authority for the stop-work order and 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.” Orsted did not give a timeline as to when it expects to request a preliminary injunction. The Revolution Wind project 17 miles off the coast off the Rhode island coast has earned approvals from key federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, Coast Guard, Army Corps of Engineers and National Marine Fisheries Service, Orsted said. The company added that Revolution Wind has already invested and committed billions of dollars in reliance on those approvals. Revolution Wind is now 80% complete and was on track to deliver 704 megawatts of clean energy to over 350,000 homes in Connecticut and Rhode Island by 2026. ISO New England, the entity responsible for operating the electric grid in the region, has warned that delaying the project would increase risks to reliability. The project has installed all offshore foundations, nearly 70% of turbines and is nearing completion of both export cable and substation work. Revolution Wind supports more than 2,000 U.S. jobs, including more than 1,000 union workers who have logged 2 million hours.