Ørsted, New Jersey settle case over scrapped offshore wind projects

New Jersey will receive a USD-125-million (EUR 115.4m) legal settlement payment related to Ørsted A/S’ (CPH:ORSTED) decision to ceased the development of its Ocean Wind 1 and Ocean Wind 2 offshore wind projects in state waters.

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) said on Tuesday that the parties have agreed to release all claims against each other. The sum to be paid by the Danish energy major will be allocated to investments in wind power generation and component manufacturing projects, as well as for other clean energy initiatives.

Ørsted announced a decision to scrap the development of New Jersey’s first offshore wind project, the 1,100-MW Ocean Wind 1, and of the 1,148-MW Ocean Wind 2, in November last year after suffering increased costs and supply chain issues. In response, state Governor Phil Murphy ordered a review, demanding Ørsted to “fully and immediately honour its obligations.”

The two schemes were awarded in New Jersey’s second offshore wind solicitation.

Ørsted turned to a net loss of DKK 20.2 billion (USD 2.9bn/EUR 2.7bn) for 2023, mostly due to the cancellation of the two offshore schemes.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.923)

(DKK 1.0 = USD 0.145/EUR 0.134)

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