Copenhagen: Denmark's struggling offshore wind power group Orsted said Friday it was replacing its CEO with his deputy as the sector faces an "increasingly challenging situation".
Orsted said Mads Nipper would step down as chief executive on Saturday after four years on the job, with the board appointing Rasmus Errboe, the deputy CEO and chief commercial officer, to replace him.
"The renewable energy market has fundamentally changed since January 2021," chairwoman Lene Skole said in a statement.
"The impacts on our business of the increasingly challenging situation in the offshore wind industry, ranging from supply chain bottlenecks, interest rate increases, to a changing regulatory landscape, mean that our focus has shifted," Skole said.
"Therefore, the board has today agreed with Mads Nipper that it's the right time for him to step down and the board has appointed Rasmus Errboe to take over as CEO."
Long dependent on fossil fuels before emerging a champion of offshore wind power, Orsted is struggling to restore its business after dropping several major projects.
Orsted was dealt a $4 billion blow in 2023 when it cancelled wind farm projects in the United States, a crucial market for the group.
The company also recently announced it was withdrawing from the Danish government's "Green Fuels for Denmark" project, and it has asked shareholders to share the burden and suspended dividends until the 2026 financial year.
The return of Donald Trump to the White House could prove another challenge for the company as the US president temporarily froze federal permitting and loans for all offshore and onshore wind projects.
