Trump's anti-wind policy hits European companies

COPENHAGEN, Jan 21 (Reuters) - European wind shares fell on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump axed support for new offshore wind power on his first day in office, adding to pain in an industry that had turned to the United States to help revive its fortunes.

The biggest decliner, Denmark's Orsted (ORSTED.CO), opens new tab, which plunged 17%, came under further strain from impairments on its U.S. ventures.

The global offshore wind industry, which initially boomed, has been struggling to deliver the carbon reductions pursued by many governments as escalating costs, supply chain issues and planning issues have slowed development.

U.S. prospects for wind had looked more favourable because of former president Joe Biden's green investment policy.

But Trump, long known to favour fossil fuels, on Monday suspended new federal offshore wind leasing pending an environmental and economic review, saying wind turbines are ugly, expensive and harm wildlife.

Orsted on Tuesday reported 12.1 billion Danish crowns ($1.69 billion) in impairment charges related to the U.S. offshore market, triggering a selloff that dragged its share price to some 84% below a peak in 2021.

A delay and higher costs for Orsted's Sunrise Wind project, which is expected to be the largest U.S. offshore wind farm once completed, were the main reason for the plunge, analysts said.

But the company also flagged impairments on seabed leases that could be directly linked to Trump, Sydbank analyst Jacob Pedersen told Reuters.

"Orsted now has some assets in the U.S. that are worth...
[Short citation of 8% of the original article]