In a major boost for the company, Equinor has confirmed it plans to participate in the rights issue offshore wind developer Ørsted was recently forced to announce after the Trump administration targeted the industry
Ørsted was forced to announce the rights issue after it was unable to complete the planned partial divestment and associated non-recourse project financing of the Sunrise Wind project in the US. Since then, the Trump administration has dealt the company another major blow, when the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management ordered work to stop on the company’s Revolution Wind project off the New England Coast, a project that has almost been completed.
In a statement, Equinor said it had assessed the proposal put forward by Ørsted on 11 August 2025 for a rights issue with pre-emptive rights for existing shareholders.
“Following dialogue with Ørsted, Equinor has decided to support the proposal to strengthen Ørsted’s balance sheet in response to the current industry challenges,” Equinor said.
“As a long-term industrial shareholder, Equinor intends to participate in the rights issue and maintain its 10% ownership share in Ørsted. Ahead of the next annual general meeting, Equinor will also nominate a candidate to Ørsted’s board of directors.”
Equinor said support of the rights issue “reflects confidence in Ørsted’s underlying business, and the competitiveness of offshore wind in the future energy mix, in selected geographies.”
The company continued, “In response to the challenges facing offshore wind, the industry will see consolidation and new business models. Equinor believes that closer industrial and strategic collaboration between Ørsted and Equinor can create value for all shareholders in both companies.”
Equinor said it is following recent developments in offshore wind industry in the US closely and will remain in dialogue with Ørsted as the situation evolves. Subject to the final terms of the rights issue, Equinor will subscribe for new shares at a consideration of up to Dkr6Bn, or around US$939M.
Equinor said it plans to participate in the rights issue within its communicated financial framework and remains committed to delivering competitive capital distribution.
Equinor’s offshore wind portfolio consists of 0.4 GW net installed capacity, and a further 3.0 GW under development. Its current focus is on completing the ongoing development projects in northwest Europe and Empire Wind 1 in the US.
