UK utility company National Grid has reported an impairment charge of £303m ($403m) for the financial year 2024/25 (FY24/25) due to the pausing of development activities by its joint venture, Community Offshore Wind (COSW), amid a slowdown in the US offshore wind industry.
The impairment reflects current policy uncertainties and the impact on the company’s offshore wind generation projects in the northeastern US.
Go deeper with GlobalData
The renewable energy sector has been impacted by President Trump’s order of a temporary suspension of new federal leases for offshore wind energy projects in January 2025.
COSW is a joint venture between National Grid and RWE Renewables, an offshore wind developer from Germany.
In April 2025, RWE announced that it had ceased work on its US projects owing to the changes announced by the Trump administration.
The slowdown impacted National Grid Ventures’ statutory operating profit, decreasing it by £553m.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataThe company also faces £57m in exceptional transaction and separation costs for the planned disposal of National Grid Renewables and £15m of commodity remeasurement losses, all recognised in the same financial year.
Despite these setbacks, it plans to invest £60bn across its energy networks and adjacent businesses in the UK and the US over the five-year period leading up to March 2029.
The group’s assets are projected to approach £100bn by that time. £51bn of this investment is expected to be in line with the EU Taxonomy legislation’s principles as of the reporting date.
Between 2024/25 to 2028/29, National Grid anticipates a total cumulative capital investment of around £60bn and an asset growth CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 10%, supported by a robust balance sheet.
For the financial year 2025/26, the group expects a strong operational performance with underlying earnings per share (EPS) projected to align with the 6% to 8% CAGR range from the 2024/25 baseline.
National Grid CEO John Pettigrew stated: “We’ve made significant progress in the first year of our five-year financial framework, with record capital investment of almost £10bn, 20% higher than 2024, helping to drive regulated asset growth of around 10% this year. Strong performance across all areas of the business underpins our plans to successfully invest around £60bn over five years.
“At a time of international economic uncertainty, National Grid continues to provide stable and predictable growth through our resilient business model. We remain focused on delivering secure, affordable and clean energy to our customers and communities, and providing long-term value and returns for our shareholders.”
