Ørsted spent most of the last decade trying to build a U.S. clean energy business, and now the company is reportedly looking at selling about $1 billion of it.
Bloomberg reports that the Danish wind developer is weighing a sale of U.S. renewable assets, citing people familiar with the discussions. No buyer has been named, and no deal has been signed.
It would be the latest step in a balance sheet rescue that has reshaped one of the biggest names in offshore wind.
The U.S. was supposed to be a growth market for Ørsted, but it became a headache.
Higher interest rates blew up the economics on offshore wind contracts written under different assumptions, which led to projects getting delayed, written down, or cancelled.
The Trump administration moved to halt the Sunrise Wind project off Long Island earlier this year, though a federal judge later cleared construction to resume.
To plug the hole, Ørsted ran a massive divestment program and raised fresh capital, signing roughly DKK 46 billion (about $7.3 billion) in asset sales over 2025 and 2026, which is well past its DKK 35 billion target. It also closed an €8 billion rights issue earlier this year to specifically shore up the Sunrise project.
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The reported $1 billion sale fits a clear trend, since Ørsted has been steadily trimming its U.S. footprint.
In late 2025 it sold a 49% stake in its U.S. Badger Wind project to MDU Resources, which has 250 megawatts of gross capacity. In 2024 it sold a 50% equity stake in three U.S. onshore projects to Energy Capital Partners for $572 million, including the 468 megawatt Mockingbird Solar Center in Texas.
Earlier this year it also offloaded its entire European onshore business to Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners for €1.44 billion, with the sale closing in the second quarter.
The plan from here is to focus offshore wind investment in Europe, where Ørsted is strongest, and to keep trimming U.S. exposure where it can.
The wind sector has been one of the toughest stories in clean energy this cycle, hit by rate spikes, cost inflation, and shifting U.S. policy.
A $1 billion U.S. sale would not just help Ørsted's balance sheet but also signal where private capital still sees value in American clean power assets.
Energy infrastructure funds have been the most likely buyers of Ørsted's discarded projects so far, paying for stable cash flows rather than growth.
Ørsted has not confirmed the reported sale, and Bloomberg is the only outlet reporting talks are happening.
If a buyer turns up around the $1 billion mark, it would push the total divestment tally further past the company's original target and free up more cash to defend the offshore wind pipeline.
The retreat keeps narrowing the map.
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