Ørsted expands US wind foothold with $510mn investment

Danish energy company Ørsted has announced an agreement with a US based wind developer.

is purchasing 100% equity interest in DE Shaw Group’s offshore wind developer business, Deepwater Wind. The company has stated the deal was worth a total of $510mn.

Deepwater Wind currently owns the 30MW Block Island offshore wind facility, and its total portfolio has a 3.3GW potential capacity, with offshore wind development projects in Rhode Island, Connecticut, Maryland and New York.

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Meanwhile, Ørsted has a total offshore wind portfolio in the US amounting to 5.5GW capacity. Its expansion of this portfolio has been reported as a sign of how attractive the US is becoming for offshore wind, as well as cementing Ørsted’s international foothold which now spans Europe, North America and Asia Pacific.

Martin Neubert, Chief Executive for offshore wind at Ørsted, said of the project: “With this transaction we’re creating the number one offshore wind platform in North America, merging the best of two worlds: Deepwater Wind’s longstanding expertise in originating, developing and permitting offshore wind projects in the US, and Ørsted’s unparalleled track-record in engineering, constructing and operating large-scale offshore wind farms.”

Bryan R Martin, Managing Director at DE Shaw & Co, added: “I’m excited to see what the largest and most innovative offshore wind company in the US can do when it’s merged with the largest and most successful offshore wind company in the world.”