Ørsted

Ørsted A/S, together with its subsidiaries, develops, constructs, owns and operates offshore and onshore wind farms, solar farms, energy storage facilities, and bioenergy plants. It operates through Offshore, Onshore, and Markets & Bioenergy segments. 

The Offshore segment develops, constructs, owns and operates offshore wind farms in the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, the United States, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea. The Onshore segment develops, owns, and operates onshore wind and solar farms in the United States. The Markets & Bioenergy segment engages in the generation of heat and power from combined heat and power plants in Denmark; sells power and gas in the wholesale and B2B markets, and optimizes and hedges energy portfolio. 

The company was formerly known as DONG Energy A/S and changed its name to Ørsted A/S in November 2017. Ørsted A/S was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Fredericia, Denmark.

Ørsted has its origin in the Danish state-owned company Dansk Naturgas A/S. The company was founded in 1972 to manage gas and oil resources in the Danish sector of the North Sea. After some years, the company was renamed to Dansk Olie og Naturgas A/S, meaning Danish Oil and Natural Gas. 

At the beginning of the decade of the 2000s, Dong started to expand itself into the electricity market by taking long positions in electricity companies. In 2005, Dong acquired and merged Danish electrical power producers Elsam and Energi E2 and public utility companies NESA, Københavns Energi and Frederiksberg Forsyning. The result of the merger was the creation of DONG Energy. The merger was approved by the European Commission on 14 March 2006.

In 2002, one of the predecessors of Dong Energy named Elsam installed the 160 MW Horns Rev offshore wind farm, which was the first large-scale offshore wind farm in the world. In 2005, Dong Energy acquired 10.34% of the Ormen Lange gas field. The share of gas reserves allocated to Dong Energy are approximately 40 billion cubic metres.

In 2006, Dong entered a 20-year contract for one billion cubic meters of natural gas per year from 2011, from Gazprom in Russia through Nord Stream 1 and Germany. The deal included that Dong delivers 600 million cubic meters per year from the Ormen Lange gas field to Gazprom in the United Kingdom. In 2007, Dong and Wingas agreed to a gas swap, where Dong delivers gas to Wingas UK, while Wingas delivers the same amount to Dong in North Germany. The deal was criticized as "damaging to European interests". This year as well, Dong Energy entered the Dutch market. 

At about the time of the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Dong Energy adopted a strategy, called the "85/15 vision", of changing from a company with 85% of activities fossil fuel-based to a company with 85% based on green energy activities.  In 2009, Dong Energy sold its fibre broadband in northern Zealand to TDC A/S. The next year, it started a cooperation with Dutch Nederlandse Energie Maatschappij. In 2009, the Gazprom-Dong contract was doubled to 2 bcm/year for 18 years, beginning in 2012. However, Gazprom records showed that Dong only bought 15% of that amount in 2012 and 2013.

In 2010, DONG divested Norwegian power companies Salten and Nordkraft. In September 2013, Dong Energy sold a power cable accessing the London Array wind farm to its partners, E.ON and Masdar for around $728 million. Also this year, Dong Energy finished the construction of the 400 MW Anholt Offshore Wind Farm off the Danish island of Anholt in the Kattegat at a cost of 10 billion Danish kroner. Dong Energy was the only bidder in the process. As of 2012, Dong Energy had a wind turbine capacity of 794 MW and planned to add another 594 MW in 2013.

In 2014 Dong Energy divested its last onshore wind turbines, focusing on offshore wind power of which Dong Energy had 3,000 MW in 2015; As part of the restructuring plan to fund offshore wind projects. Dong Energy sold an 18% stake to New Energy Investment S.a.r.l., a subsidiary of Goldman Sachs, while Danish pension funds, ATP and PFA Pension acquired 4.9% and 1.8% accordingly. The deal was heavily criticised and caused a split of the ruling coalition of Helle Thorning-Schmidt.

In 2015, Dong Energy had a deficit of 12 billion DKK, the largest of any Danish company ever. On 9 June 2016, some of these shares were sold in an IPO at Copenhagen Stock Exchange. Also in 2016, Dong Energy was voted number 11 on the Clean200 list. At the same time, it divested its ownership shares of five Norwegian oil and gas fields to Faroe Petroleum.

In 2017, Dong Energy completed decommissioning the world's first offshore wind farm, Vindeby Offshore Wind Farm. Also in 2017, the company decided to phase out the use of coal for power generation, and it sold off its oil and gas business to Ineos for US$1.05 billion.

After selling its oil and gas business the company announced its transition to renewable energy was fulfilled and changed its name to “Ørsted” after the Danish scientist Hans Christian Ørsted, citing that “Dong” was inappropriate considering they no longer owned any oil and natural gas assets. In 2018 Ørsted acquired Deepwater Wind to expand offshore wind in the US. As well this year, a gas price arbitration case was closed between Gazprom on one side, and Ørsted, Shell and others on the opposite side. In 2019, Ørsted divested an electricity distribution network for $3 billion. On 9 September 2020, it was revealed that Mads Nipper, former CEO of Grundfos, will take over as CEO from Henrik Poulsen on January 2021.

In 2020 developer Ørsted sold a 50% stake in the Greater Changhua 1 Offshore Wind Farm in Taiwan to Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec and Cathay PE for $2.7 billion. In 2022, Ørsted began rewilding the sea bottom near some of its offshore wind farms.

The mission of Ørsted is to create a world that runs entirely on green energy. The company strongly believes that renewable energy holds the key to a cleaner future and that it is critical to take real action to reduce the effects of climate change. By transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy, Ørsted aims to create a more sustainable future for the planet and to help combat the global challenge of climate change.

Ørsted's mission is not only about reducing carbon emissions, but also about leading the transition towards a low-carbon economy. The company is committed to investing in renewable energy technologies and creating new solutions to accelerate the shift towards green energy. This includes developing offshore wind farms, bioenergy solutions, and energy storage systems.

As part of its mission, Ørsted is also committed to being a responsible corporate citizen. The company strives to operate in a sustainable and ethical manner, and to make a positive impact on the communities where it operates. This includes working with local communities, promoting diversity and inclusion, and investing in education and research.

The vision of Ørsted is to be a global leader in the transition to renewable energy. The company aims to build a world where renewable energy is the primary source of power, and where energy is produced and consumed sustainably. This vision is driven by the belief that renewable energy is the key to creating a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable future for everyone.

To achieve its vision, Ørsted has set ambitious goals for itself. These include becoming carbon neutral by 2025 and achieving a net-zero carbon footprint by 2040. The company is also committed to increasing its renewable energy capacity by at least 15 GW by 2025 and to achieving a renewable energy capacity of 30 GW by 2030.

Ørsted's vision is not just about being a leader in renewable energy, but also about creating positive change for society and the environment. The company is committed to creating value for its stakeholders, including shareholders, customers, employees, and the communities in which it operates. This includes supporting local economic development, promoting social inclusion, and protecting the environment.

In pursuit of its vision, Ørsted is constantly innovating and exploring new technologies to drive the transition to renewable energy. The company has a strong focus on research and development, and is committed to investing in new solutions to accelerate the shift towards green energy.

Ørsted is a global leader in renewable energy, and its primary focus is on offshore wind power. The company develops, constructs, and operates offshore wind farms, which generate electricity from the power of the wind. Ørsted's wind farms are located in Europe, Asia, and North America and have a total capacity of more than 7.6 GW, which is enough to power over 15 million homes.

In addition to offshore wind power, Ørsted also offers bioenergy solutions. These include the production of sustainable biomass, which can be used to produce renewable heat and power. The company's bioenergy operations include the production of wood pellets, which are used in large-scale power plants to produce electricity.

Ørsted also offers energy storage solutions, which are critical to integrating renewable energy into the grid. The company's energy storage solutions include large-scale battery systems that can store excess energy generated by wind farms and other renewable sources. This stored energy can then be used to balance the grid and ensure a stable supply of electricity.

Furthermore, Ørsted provides energy management services to its customers. These services help customers to manage their energy use more efficiently and reduce their carbon footprint. The company offers a range of solutions, including energy audits, energy monitoring, and energy efficiency recommendations.

Finally, Ørsted is committed to innovation and research, and invests heavily in the development of new renewable energy technologies. The company's research and development efforts focus on offshore wind power, bioenergy, and energy storage, with the goal of driving down costs and increasing the efficiency of renewable energy systems.