(Bloomberg) -- Surging price tags to build US offshore wind projects have been driven by swollen borrowing costs, the head of Orsted A/S’s Americas business said during an appearance on Bloomberg Television.

Those costs — which are passed on to ratepayers — will moderate as the industry matures, Orsted Group Executive Vice President David Hardy said on Tuesday.

“We’re standing up a new industry here that’s 30 years behind Europe,” he said. “And so of course our costs are going to start higher.”

The American offshore wind industry has been criticized for the heavy burden placed on consumers, with Orsted’s new contracts recently renegotiated with New York considerably more expensive than prior agreements.

--With assistance from Josh Saul.

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