“Political risk on steroids”: AkademikerPension CIO Anders Schelde on Trump’s clash with Ørsted

It took over nine years for Ørsted’s Revolution Wind project to receive all necessary approvals. In November 2023, the Danish developer began construction on America’s first multi-state offshore wind farm, 15 miles south of Rhode Island coast.

Last year, the US Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) issued the final federal approval letter. Then, on 22 August 2025, the same agency issued a stop-work order for the project, citing national security concerns.

The development has significant implications for not only Ørsted but also Danish asset owners and their outlook for US offshore wind. AkademikerPension, a Danish pension fund with over $24bn in assets under management, is one such investor.

“In my view, US offshore wind is effectively dead”, warns Anders Schelde, chief investment officer of AkademikerPension.

Offshore hostility

Revolution Wind is a joint venture between Ørsted and Skyborn Renewables – an offshore wind developer owned by Global Infrastructure Partners. GIP was acquired by BlackRock in 2024.

The stop-work order directs Ørsted’s subsidiary to halt all activities related to the project on the outer continental shelf, pending a BOEM review. The review, according to BOEM’s letter, is aimed at protecting US national security interests.

Investor concerns over the directive have a lot to do with its timing. The 704 MW project is 80% complete and 45 of its 65 wind turbines have already been installed.

“As investors, we are used to accounting for risk, but Trump’s apparent hostility towards offshore wind is different, because we cannot discern any underlying logic”, Schelde told Net Zero Investor.

“It is political risk on steroids – and that kind of risk is extremely hard to grasp, which makes it very bad news for the stock”, he adds.

Targeted by Trump

The stop-work order added to the Ørsted’s existing woes.

Earlier in the month, the company announced it was planning a rights issue for another offshore wind farm in the US – Sunrise Wind. The 60bn DKK rights issue followed the board’s decision to halt the planned partial divestment from the project.

The Trump administration’s offshore wind hostility left the company with limited options, according to Schelde.

“This leaves Ørsted with no realistic way to secure the funds to complete the Sunrise project other than through a share issue, forcing them to proceed at the worst possible time in the company’s history”, he says.

Markets have priced in these developments. Over the past month, Ørsted’s share price plunged by 36%.

“What the market is really pricing in right now is the fear that Trump has singled out Ørsted as one of his targets”, said Schelde.

Danish demand

AkademikerPension’s concerns are unlikely to be solitary ones. Amongst Denmark’s largest financiers, an appetite for offshore wind and related technologies is increasingly common.

PFA Pension’s DKK 90bn climate solutions tilt includes offshore wind and wind turbines. Wind turbines are also part of Danica Pension’s investment thesis for alternative assets under the Danica Balance Sustainable Choice portfolio. At last count, over 53% of PensionDanmark’s green energy investments were in offshore wind. Some 30% of the world’s offshore wind projects, outside of China, are backed by EIFO - Denmark’s Export and Investment Fund.

The Trump administration’s hostility towards Ørsted, therefore, is set against the backdrop of Danish asset owners and their offshore wind allocations. To that end, it could set a powerful precedent. One that Danish asset owners will be watching closely.