{"id":365399,"date":"2025-02-08T10:56:01","date_gmt":"2025-02-08T09:56:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=365399"},"modified":"2025-02-08T10:56:03","modified_gmt":"2025-02-08T09:56:03","slug":"milibands-net-zero-plans-torpedoed-by-uks-top-offshore-wind-developer-as-orsted-axes-major-projects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=365399","title":{"rendered":"Miliband\u2019s Net Zero Plans Torpedoed by UK\u2019s Top Offshore Wind Developer as \u00d8rsted Axes Major Projects"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From The Daily Sceptic<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Wednesday, \u00d8rsted, the leading offshore wind<\/a> developer in the UK, announced<\/a> it is cutting its investment plans out to 2030 by 25%. It said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

We\u2019ll 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. \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These adjustments will not affect the execution of the 9 GW of renewable projects that \u00d8rsted is currently constructing. The construction portfolio brings line of sight to an expansion of renewable capacity from 18 GW to more than 27 GW. \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The announcement from the Danish firm, which claims to be the leading offshore wind developer<\/a> in the world, comes hot on the heels of the company\u2019s CEO being replaced<\/a> last month and the Chairman, finance chief and operating officer being fired last year. Yesterday\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 \u00a382\/MWh in Allocation Round 6 (AR6) when the results<\/a> were announced last September. According to H4\u2019s latest newsletter<\/a>, the project has been granted planning permission and won a CfD but it had not yet passed the Final Investment Decision. Sure enough, in \u00d8rsted\u2019s latest investor presentation<\/a> Hornsea 4 has been axed from the investment plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It is all but certain that \u00d8rsted will not be participating in the forthcoming Allocation Round 7 (AR7) to win new subsidy contracts. Of course, this torpedoes Ed Miliband\u2019s plan<\/a> to almost quadruple offshore wind capacity by 2030. The loss of Hornsea Project Four and the lack of participation of \u00d8rsted in new auctions will leave a massive gap to be filled. If the world\u2019s leading offshore wind developer is feeling the pinch, then we can be fairly sure that other developers will be facing significant challenges too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This sudden announcement may explain why AR7 announcements appear to be behind schedule. The Administrative Strike Prices for AR6<\/a> were announced in November 2023, more than four months before the auction process began in March 2024<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s certainly looking like Miliband\u2019s 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\u2019s an entirely different fluid emanating from a different orifice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have used X<\/a> to ask \u00d8rsted UK for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Turver writes the <\/em>Eigen Values<\/a> Substack, where this article first appeared<\/a>.<\/em> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Wednesday, \u00d8rsted, the\u00a0leading offshore wind\u00a0developer in the UK,\u00a0announced\u00a0it is cutting its investment plans out to 2030 by 25%.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":365400,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691821693,691819180,691833095,691818154,691818301,691818181],"class_list":{"0":"post-365399","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-ed-miliband","9":"tag-energy-costs","10":"tag-hornsea-project-four","11":"tag-net-zero","12":"tag-offshore-wind","13":"tag-renewable-energy","15":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/0Screenshot-2025-02-07-151031.jpeg?fit=1179%2C716&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1x3x","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":397882,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=397882","url_meta":{"origin":365399,"position":0},"title":"Orsted Pull The Plug On\u00a0AR7","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"26\/08\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"As we know, Orsted, Denmark\u2019s world leading offshore wind developer, pulled out of its Contract for Difference to build a giant 2400 MW Hornsea 4 wind farm in May. 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