The company that put wind turbines off the Atlantic City coastline is going green — and changing its name.
DONG Energy will now be Ørsted, paying homage to Danish scientist Hans Christian Ørsted, whose discovery of electromagnetism 200 years ago was essential in the way power is now produced.
“His curiosity, dedication and interest in nature are characteristics and values that we share and that are crucial for creating a world that runs entirely on green energy,” said Lauren Burm, head of public affairs, North America. “We’ve become too green for our name.”
The company is transforming from black to green energy, and recently divested its upstream oil and gas production. It also plans to phase out all coal use by 2023.
“DONG was originally short for Danish Oil and Natural Gas,” Board Chairman Thomas Thune Andersen explained. “With the divestment of our oil and gas production and the fact that we have decided to stop using coal, this is no longer who we are. With our profound transformation to green energy, it is the right time to change our name to reflect who we are becoming.”
As a result, company leaders called for an extraordinary general meeting to ask the shareholders of the company to approve a change to Ørsted. The announcement was made at a recent town hall in Denmark.
“Our vision is a world that runs entirely on green energy,” Andersen said. “Climate change is one of the most serious threats to the global ecosystem, and we believe that we need to change the way we power the world. With our own transformation, we fully support the change to green energy.”
Over the past decade, DONG Energy has transformed from an energy company based on coal and oil to a global leader in renewable energy. The company increased earnings considerably, while building new offshore wind farms and reducing the use of coal on its power stations.
The company has 22 wind projects around the world, including turbines in Atlantic City.
“Our focus going forward will be on green growth based on our existing business platforms in offshore wind, biomass, green customer solutions and advanced waste to energy solutions,” CEO Henrik Poulsen said. “We will also explore new green growth opportunities strengthening our existing platform and decide if they support our vision, provide a strong competitive position and create value for our shareholders.”
