Danish wind giant Ørsted has hit a record low on the stock market after the Trump administration’s freeze on wind permits sparked a desperate $9 billion scramble for cash. The company’s shares plummeted on its worst-ever trading day following the announcement of the emergency fundraising plan.
The crisis originates from the White House’s move to review all offshore wind permitting and leasing, which has effectively shut down the US market. This policy directly undermines Ørsted’s financial strategy of selling project stakes to fund its operations, a business model crucial for the capital-intensive renewables sector.
The company’s CEO, Rasmus Errboe, has called the situation “extraordinary.” He explained that the combination of this aggressive US policy and pre-existing supply chain issues left the company with no other option but to seek a massive infusion of capital to stabilize its finances.
While the Danish state, a majority owner, has backed the fundraising, the market’s reaction has been brutal. The incident has cast a long shadow over the future of the US offshore wind industry, with Trump’s long-documented opposition to wind farms now threatening to derail a key pillar of the global clean energy transition.