Orsted Challenges US Halt of its $5 Billion Offshore Wind Project

(Reuters) – Denmark’s Orsted said on Friday it was challenging the U.S. government’s suspension of the lease for its Revolution Wind joint venture and would seek a court injunction against the decision to halt its $5 billion offshore wind project.

The Trump administration suspended leases on December 22 for five large offshore wind projects that are under construction off the U.S. East Coast over what it called national security concerns, sending shares of offshore wind companies plunging.

The suspension was the latest blow for offshore wind developers that have faced repeated disruptions to their multi-billion-dollar projects under U.S. President Donald Trump, who has said he finds wind turbines ugly, costly and inefficient.

Orsted said in a statement on Friday that Revolution Wind was about 87% complete and that at the time of the lease suspension order, the project was expected to begin generating power as soon as January 2026.

“Revolution Wind has spent and committed billions of dollars in reliance upon, and has met the requests of, a thorough review process,” Orsted said in the statement.

Revolution Wind LLC, a 50-50 joint venture between Orsted and Global Infrastructure Partners’ Skyborn Renewables, filed its complaint with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Orsted and Skyborn Renewables in September said they had already spent or committed about $5 billion for Revolution Wind.

Orsted’s share price plunged 13% on Monday following the U.S. government announcement.

Squeezed by inflation, higher interest rates, supply chain delays and regulatory headwinds, Orsted last year raised 60 billion Danish crowns ($9.4 billion) in a heavily discounted share issue to shore up its finances.

State officials, Democratic lawmakers and industry trade groups have slammed the government’s move as unjustified.

The U.S. Department of the Interior has said the decision was the result of complaints by the Pentagon that the movement of huge turbine blades for offshore wind projects and the highly reflective towers that hold them up cause radar interference that can make it hard to identify and locate security threats.

Sunrise Wind LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Orsted that also received a lease suspension order, continues to evaluate all options to resolve the matter, the company said.