Shares in Orsted tumbled 28% on the Copenhagen stock exchange following its announcement.

The company had plans to sell a stake in its delayed Sunrise Wind project off the coast of New York.

But Orsted said in a statement Monday that it was “not possible” to complete the partial divestment following “the recent material adverse development in the US offshore wind market”.

The entire sector faces a major challenge in the US after Trump froze federal permitting and loans for all offshore and onshore wind projects.

Orsted said it would not be able to sell the Sunrise Wind stake on terms that would supply the company the necessary funds to support its business plan.

“Orsted and our industry are in an extraordinary situation with the adverse market development in the US on top of the past years’ macroeconomic and supply chain challenges,” Orsted CEO Rasmus Errboe said in a statement.

The company said the plans to sell new shares were supported by the Danish state, which is a majority shareholder.

Empire Wind, another massive offshore wind power project off the coast of New York being constructed by Norway’s Equinor, was temporarily halted by the Trump administration in mid-April.

Equinor said in July that the project had lost nearly US$1 billion in value following regulatory changes and tariffs.

Orsted was once considered a success story.

In less than a decade – from 2010 to 2019 – it went from a traditional energy company that relied on fossil fuels for energy production to instead having 86% come from renewable sources.

It was the first company to invest massively in offshore wind power in the US, securing fixed-price projects in a low-rate environment.

But it was dealt a US$4 billion blow in 2023 when it cancelled its Ocean Wind 1 and 2 projects that were due to be installed off the coast of New Jersey.

In May, Orsted said it was shelving plans to build a massive wind farm off the UK coast due to rising costs.