Our renewables.digital research team has identified Ørsted A/S as Denmark’s largest renewable energy developer, with a renewable capacity of over 18.200 MW. Based on the company’s installed capacity, investment volume and project pipeline, the renewables.digital team concludes that Iberdrola is one of the largest renewable energy developers not only in Scandinavia and Europe, but also worldwide.
Which renewable energy assets is Ørsted A/S developing?
Ørsted originated from the Danish state-owned company Dansk Naturgas A/S. Founded in 1972, the company was established to manage gas and oil resources in the Danish sector of the North Sea. In its first 20 years the company only managed Danish oil and natural gas sources, becoming an important player in the Danish electricity market in the process. 1991, the company built the world’s first offshore wind farm. In 2002, the world’s first large-scale offshore wind farm, with a capacity of 160 MW, was installed. Since 2012, the company has focused increasingly on offshore wind energy, and in 2017 it decided to phase out the use of coal for power generation and sold off its oil and gas business. During its transition to renewable energy, the company changed its name to Ørsted.
Today, Ørsted is the world’s largest offshore wind energy developer. To date, Ørsted has installed 9.9 GW of offshore wind energy across Europe, the US, and Asia. In addition to its offshore wind activities, Ørsted also develops onshore wind energy, solar energy projects, battery storage projects, and hydrogen projects. In total, Ørsted’s installed renewable energy capacity amounts to 18.2 GW, with a further 7.5 GW under construction. Ørsted’s substantiated pipeline reaches 35 GW. Orsted’s ambition is to install 20–22 GW of offshore wind capacity and 11–13 GW of onshore wind, solar and storage capacity across its markets by 2030. Between 2024 and 2030, Ørsted plans to invest €36.2 billion in its business activities, primarily in offshore and onshore wind energy projects.
Overview of Ørsted’s business activities
Not that many things have changed since 2012. Even today, Ørsted has developed the world’s largest offshore wind farm. Hornsea 2 comprises 165 turbines, each 200 metres tall. The Hornsea 3 offshore wind farm will break the record again, with a generating capacity of 2.9 GW. Further projects are being developed in the UK, Northern Europe, the north-eastern USA, Taiwan, Korea, Australia, Ireland, Germany and Spain. Orsted’s core markets are the US, where it has 8 GW of renewable capacity; the UK, where the company owns projects with 11.3 GW of renewable capacity; and Denmark, Germany and Poland, where the company holds between 2.6 GW and 3 GW of renewable energy capacity.
Alternative candidates for the Danish renewable energy developer ranking
European Energy was founded in 2004, beginning with its first onshore wind projects in Germany. Today, the company has 29 offices across 21 countries, where it develops solar, onshore and offshore wind, energy storage, and carbon capture projects. European Energy has an extensive project pipeline, estimated at approximately 63 GW, with 39 GW already in the advanced stages of development. While the project pipeline is huge, it remains to be seen how many of these projects will be realised. Therefore, Ørsted retains its position as Denmark’s largest renewable energy developer.
Picture Source: You Le via Unsplash
