Ørsted: Firm behind major Hornsea wind farm off Yorkshire coast sees earnings lift
Energy giant Ørsted has seen its earnings lift as the company said it had begun work on the foundations Hornsea 3, a major wind farm scheme off the coast of East Yorkshire.
Ørsted said that it had commenced the installation of monopile foundations at Hornsea 3, an £8.5bn infrastructure project which the firm says will deliver power to over three million UK homes.
It came as the Danish firm announced that its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) had risen to DKK 9.5bn (£1.10bn) in the first quarter of the year, up eight per cent year-on-year.
Ørsted said its higher earnings were driven by a 27 per cent increase in offshore generation year-on-year, following a ramp up at two of its wind farms and “slightly higher” wind speeds than usual.
It also came as the firm produced record amounts of renewable energy in the quarter.
Rasmus Errboe, group president and CEO at Ørsted, said: “I’m pleased with the strong operational performance.
“During the first quarter of 2026, we produced more renewable energy than ever before, delivering secure, affordable, and green power to millions of households and businesses.
“As we deliver on our offshore construction projects, we’ll increase our power generation significantly throughout the year, at a time when energy supply is under pressure by the events in the Middle East.”
The announcement came, however, as the firm saw its profits slip from DKK 4,887bn (£0.57bn) to DKK 2,621bn (£0.30bn).
The firm said this was largely due to impairments of DKK 1369bn, (£0.16bn), made up largely of impairments from the higher long-dated US interest rates.
Once one of the most coal-intensive energy firms in Europe, Ørsted is now the world’s largest developer of offshore wind power.
Amongst its major schemes are the Hornsea offshore wind farm projects, located in the North Sea.
The Hornsea 1 and Hornsea 2 wind farms, located over 70 miles off the Yorkshire coast, are now in operation, with the third under construction.
In May last year, Ørsted announced that it would discontinue its Hornsea 4 project “in its current form”, adding that it would “evaluate options for future development” of the scheme.
Ørsted at the time cited “several adverse developments” amongst the reasons for its decision, including increasing supply chain costs and higher interest rates.
The firm’s latest results come after last week, speaking at the Offshore Wind Connections Conference, held in Hull, Tor Arne Johnsen, business development manager with the Norwegian Wind Cluster, called for more collaboration between the Humber and Norway.
Mr Johnsen described the Humber as “probably born of the most attractive regions in Europe when it comes to investment and activities in offshore wind”.