Dive Brief:<\/p>\n
Credit rating agency Moody\u2019s Investors Service announced Tuesday that it had downgraded its outlook for Danish energy company \u00d8rsted from stable to negative after the company announced it would be taking impairments of up to $2.3 billion on its U.S. offshore wind portfolio. Dive Insight:<\/p>\n Of the 16 offshore wind projects currently in development in the U.S., \u00d8rsted is developing eight of them: Revolution Wind, Skipjack Wind, Ocean Wind 1 and 2, South Fork Wind, Sunrise Wind, Revolution Wind, and Block Island Wind Farm.\u00a0These projects, all located along the East Coast, represent 5 GW in offshore wind capacity.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe take note of Moody\u2019s decision,\u201d \u00d8rsted\u2019s CFO Daniel Lerup said in a comment. \u201cMoody\u2019s decision to put \u00d8rsted on negative outlook is driven by the financial metrics (FFO\/NIBD) being below Moody\u2019s threshold in recent months.\u201d<\/p>\n Lerup said Moody\u2019s \u201ccontinues to have confidence in\u201d the company\u2019s commitment to its credit rating, which remains at Baa1.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll ensure that we deliver on our financial plan to provide Moody\u2019s the comfort needed to continue its confirmation of our current rating,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cMoody’s expects the headwinds that \u00d8rsted is currently facing in the US to lead to its credit metrics being weakly positioned at least until the end of 2025,\u201d the ratings agency said, adding that an outlook stabilization would \u201clikely require more visibility on project delivery and funding of its US offshore wind farms portfolio.\u201d
\n\u00d8rsted CEO Mads Nipper has said that the company is still weighing \u201ca real option to walk away\u201d from its investments in the U.S., Bloomberg reported Tuesday.<\/a><\/p>\n