America’s Wind-Farm Revolution Is Broken

subtitle: "Even with generous green subsidies, offshore wind projects are being called off as developers struggle to make a profit"

'Offshore wind farms should be one of the best solutions to the climate crisis but are turning out to be a lousy business. Getting the struggling industry back on its feet will require a new approach from companies and politicians alike.

The public face of the dilemma is Ørsted, a former oil and gas producer that became the world’s largest offshore wind-farm developer. The Danish company’s stock has lost more than $10 billion, or a third of its market value, since warning last week that it may take impairments of up to $2.3 billion on its U.S. projects. On Tuesday, ratings provider Moody’s downgraded the stock, a further challenge for a company that, like a property developer, needs debt to fund its plans.

Ørsted won contracts to develop wind farms off the coasts of Connecticut, New York and New Jersey in late 2018 and 2019. Since committing to sell the power from these projects at a fixed price, permitting delays, rising costs and higher interest rates have torched the returns it expected to make.'