Wind Industry in Shock as Trump Halts Projects, Forcing Ørsted’s Hand

The global wind industry is in a state of shock after the Trump administration began halting major projects, a move that has forced Danish leader Ørsted’s hand into a $9 billion emergency fundraising. The company’s stock value has been decimated, plunging to a record low as it blames the US for derailing its business.
The immediate trigger for Ørsted’s crisis was its inability to finance its US eastern seaboard project by selling a stake, its standard procedure. The administration’s review of all wind permitting has made its US assets toxic to investors. The shock was amplified when a stop-work order was issued to a separate, fully approved project by Norwegian developer Equinor.
This political assault comes on top of already difficult macroeconomic conditions, including post-pandemic supply chain disruptions and costly interest rate hikes. Trump’s long-held personal disdain for wind turbines, once a quirky footnote, is now a major geopolitical risk for the entire clean energy sector.
The Danish government is backing its national champion’s fundraising effort. CEO Rasmus Errboe acknowledged the “extraordinary” combination of challenges, stressing the need for the capital injection to strengthen the company’s structure and proceed with critical projects in New York and Rhode Island.