Declan Flanagan has resigned as chief executive of Orsted’s largely US-based onshore renewables business that he built to become a top-15 player in the world’s second largest wind market.

Orsted named Neil O’Donovan, senior vice president at Orsted Onshore, as interim CEO, and began the recruitment process to find Flanagan’s replacement.

Flanagan joined Orsted in August 2018 when it paid $580m to acquire Lincoln Clean Energy, a Chicago-based developer he founded in 2009 and led.