Ørsted acquires remaining stake in US wind farm named in patent dispute

The agreement means that Ørsted now owns 100% of the project – one of two named in an ongoing patent dispute between GE Renewable Energy and Siemens Gamesa because it is contracted to use GE’s disputed Haliade-X wind turbine.

In September, a judge at the US District Court in Boston imposed a permanent injunction on US imports, sales or installations of the flagship Haliade-X after a jury found that it infringed a Siemens Gamesa patent. GE is appealing the permanent injunction.

A ‘carve-out’ from the permanent injunction is expected for Ocean Wind 1. The project would be allowed to use the disputed Haliade-X, but a royalty would have to be paid.

PSEG said in November that it was “reviewing its options” regarding its stake in the project but declined to comment on whether its decision was connected to the ongoing patent dispute.

‘Valuable partner’

Commenting on the acquisition, David Hardy, chief executive of Ørsted’s Americas region, said: “PSEG has been a valuable partner as we’ve advanced Ocean Wind 1 to this point.”

The acquisition of PSEG’s stake is expected to be completed in the first half of 2023 and the first power from the project is expected at the end of next year, with full commissioning in 2025. PSEG will support onshore infrastructure construction.

‘Best to step aside’

Lathrop Craig, chief commercial officer at PSEG, said: “As Ocean Wind 1 has evaluated the optimal way to move forward, it’s become clear that it’s best for the project for PSEG to step aside and allow for a better positioned investor to join the project, so that it can proceed with an optimised tax structure.

He added: “While this was a difficult decision, it was driven by the best interests of the project and New Jersey’s offshore wind goals. PSEG will continue to actively support offshore wind in New Jersey and the region.”