Udvikling og omstilling for Ørsted US Offshore Wind

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to examine how Ørsted A/S can organize and operate its US division ‘’Ørsted US Offshore Wind’’ to realize a more transnational format and consolidate their market position in the US by 2025. The research of this paper is based on secondary qualitative and quantitative data and is written as a case study. The US east coast has throughout the 2010s been a growth hub for offshore wind and has attracted many big players such as Ørsted, followed by the big oil giants BP, Shell, Equnior and Total, that have infiltrated the industry through vertical integration and their unlimited budgets. This intense competitive landscape has led to disputes over sites and tender rounds for offshore wind projects. It is crucial to win tender rounds, as they are a prerequisite for a competitive foundation. The comprehensive analysis of Ørsted’ s external conditions has revealed that the governmental desire to cultivate renewable energy in the hopes of becoming selfsufficient, has to an extent increased US political support schemes for the wind industry. Key findings show that the industry’s development focus is creating solutions for storage of surplus energy generated by wind turbines, as well as other changes required by the industry. These changes require a shift of focus through global innovation and learning thinking, which is now integral to success in the offshore wind industry. The internal analysis has shown that Ørsted’ s value chain lacks cultural fusion between their infrastructure and human resources. The findings have resulted in a two-in-one strategy 1) Project implementation for cultural fusion to streamline workflows to gain learning and understanding in the organization and 2) value chain configuration that take into account local-specific preference and industry requirements. These implemented strategies will result in centralization-specific benefits, which will ultimately lead to Ørsted undergoing an orientation shift from being a global to a transnational company.