Miliband’s Net Zero Plans Torpedoed by UK’s Top Offshore Wind Developer as Ørsted Axes Major Projects
On Wednesday, Ørsted, the leading offshore wind developer in the UK, announced it is cutting its investment plans out to 2030 by 25%. It said:
We’ll reduce our investment programme towards 2030 through a stricter, more value-focused approach to capital allocation. We do this to ensure a stronger balance sheet, supporting a solid investment grade rating, and to ensure that we only invest our capital in the most financially attractive opportunities.
Our number one priority throughout the next three years will be to deliver on our committed 8.4 GW offshore wind construction programme, which will almost double our installed offshore wind capacity. The market remains challenging, but delivering on this programme will solidify our position as the undisputed global leader in offshore wind. …These adjustments will not affect the execution of the 9 GW of renewable projects that Ørsted is currently constructing. The construction portfolio brings line of sight to an expansion of renewable capacity from 18 GW to more than 27 GW. …
The previous ambition for installed renewable capacity of 35-38 GW by 2030 and the targeted EBITDA (excluding new partnerships) of approx. DKK 39-43 billion in 2030 have been discontinued.
The announcement from the Danish firm, which claims to be the leading offshore wind developer in the world, comes hot on the heels of the company’s CEO being replaced last month and the Chairman, finance chief and operating officer being fired last year. Yesterday’s news was not specific about which projects will continue and which will be cancelled. It looks like Hornsea Project 3, already under construction, will continue.
However, the same cannot be said for the 2.4 GW Hornsea Project Four (H4) that won a Contract for Difference (CfD) at a 2024 price of £82/MWh in Allocation Round 6 (AR6) when the results were announced last September. According to H4’s latest newsletter, the project has been granted planning permission and won a CfD but it had not yet passed the Final Investment Decision. Sure enough, in Ørsted’s latest investor presentation Hornsea 4 has been axed from the investment plan.
It is all but certain that Ørsted will not be participating in the forthcoming Allocation Round 7 (AR7) to win new subsidy contracts. Of course, this torpedoes Ed Miliband’s plan to almost quadruple offshore wind capacity by 2030. The loss of Hornsea Project Four and the lack of participation of Ørsted in new auctions will leave a massive gap to be filled. If the world’s leading offshore wind developer is feeling the pinch, then we can be fairly sure that other developers will be facing significant challenges too.
This sudden announcement may explain why AR7 announcements appear to be behind schedule. The Administrative Strike Prices for AR6 were announced in November 2023, more than four months before the auction process began in March 2024 and some 10 months before the results were announced. Yet, we do not yet know the strike prices for AR7, nor the date for the start of applications. We might expect Miliband to offer even more of our money to try and keep his plans on track and for strike prices to rise again.
It’s certainly looking like Miliband’s insane plans for offshore wind to provide the bulk of our electricity generation by 2030 are holed below the waterline. Instead of the answer blowing in the wind, it’s an entirely different fluid emanating from a different orifice.
I have used X to ask Ørsted UK for comment.
David Turver writes the Eigen Values Substack, where this article first appeared.
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Great news. The Bird Choppers, sea life destroyers. It really is the Age of the Orc (brainless Orc). Hydrocarbons have nothing to do with fossils (duh) and are created at the mantle and core, abiotic and by definition and fact – renewable. Green tech is not green, it is ineffective and destructive, as well as more costly. You can’t run Britain on bird choppers, or whale killers.
I hope all these billionaire, USAID, gov’t-subsidy funded and word salad spewing fake firms go teats up. The sooner the better.
Of course, this torpedoes Ed Miliband’s plan to almost quadruple offshore wind capacity by 2030. The loss of Hornsea Project Four and the lack of participation of Ørsted in new auctions will leave a massive gap to be filled. If the world’s leading offshore wind developer is feeling the pinch, then we can be fairly sure that other developers will be facing significant challenges too.
NOTHING TO DO WITH FOSSILS
Meanwhile I received a reply regarding a petition I signed to end NetZero (yes, I know, petitions are pointless) with a long patronising explanation of how if we don’t reduce the carbon we put into the atmosphere we face dire consequences. All of it presented as fact because there is a scientific consensus, whatever that is.
Until this dogma is abandoned, we will continue on this Net Zero path to self destruction, ironically to supposedly save us from self destruction.
Basically, the gaslighting needs to end.
Petitions: are a pin prick (pun on pointless), but the pin pricks are accumulative and remind those in charge of discontent – so they petitions are important.
We don’t put Carbon into the atmosphere – they need to be corrected when they make this ridiculous claim! Carbon only exists in nature in 2 forms – graphite and Diamond. If this were correct which is it?
What they talk about is a molecule, consisting of 1 carbon atom and two Oxygen atoms, and its a gas, details matter! If we wish to be pedantic (and we do) then we add twice as many Oxygen atoms than carbon atoms.
Soot, is a different matter, its particulate and its polluting, but we don’t produce much nowadays, and they’re not complaining about that.
In African countries where they are forced to burn wood and dung for cooking, because the zealots won’t allow them access to gas or electricity – they produce soot and toxic fumes.
Plans and priorities to “deliver” isn’t delivering.
I think we are seeing the Trump effect and the mounting possibility of a Reform UK Government by 2030 and Bye, Bye Net Zero.
A proper DOGE-like reveal of the squandering of taxpayer money on unviable Net Zero projects will doubtless have repercussions for “…value-focused approach to capital allocation. “
Hopefully gaol-time for defrauding the public purse.
You should read this then. Subsidies Galore: £328bn of energy and net zero related subsidies.
https://open.substack.com/pub/davidturver/p/subsidies-galore?r=nhgn1&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
“It’s certainly looking like Miliband’s insane plans for offshore wind to provide the bulk of our electricity generation by 2030 are holed below the waterline.”
Well they could cover the whole of the UK with windmills and they would generate sweet fanny adams when the wind wasn’t blowing, so the “plans” could NEVER succeed, at least not until they invent a way to make the wind blow to order.
Oh dear, Ed! How sad. Never mind…..it’ll soon be time for your bacon buttie
Offshore Wind Sinking
Is Ed Miliband the last person to understand wind power is useless? Worrying.
How much of this is taxpayer subsidies. Did the oil and gas industry ever get taxpayer subsidies.
No doubt Orsted, and other companies, will massively increase their investments in offshore wind when Mad Milliband offers then a much higher strike price than was offered in the last round of bidding for new energy capacity.
His plan failed before he embarked on his plan as any new windmills not already under construction will not be connected to the grid until after 2030 as there are no ships available to lay the cables which is a rather important feature of this.