During an an earnings call from its Headquarters in Copenhagen Tuesday, the Danish offshore wind corporation Orsted, announced that it is abandoning its Ocean Wind One and Ocean Wind Two offshore wind projects off the coast of Cape May County, New Jersey. The announcement comes after more than two years of aggressive and unrelenting legal and public opposition led by the County of Cape May. The last straw for Orsted appears to have been the filing by the
County and multiple private sector Plaintiffs of a massive, unprecedented federal lawsuit challenging federal permits issued for the Orsted Ocean Wind One project. Orsted CEO Mads Nipper told investors that Orsted was walking away from the Ocean Wind One and Ocean Wind Two projects because “Orsted has taken the decision to cease the development of the Ocean Wind 1 and 2 projects…Orsted has updated its view on certain assumptions, including tax credit monetization and the timing and likelihood of final construction permits.”