Wind stocks in Europe suffer after Trump labels turbines as 'garbage.'
The European wind power sector fell Wednesday, after Donald Trump, the U.S. president-elect said that he would work to make sure "no new windmills" were built under his watch. He also criticized the sector just two weeks before taking office.
Trump's latest attack on the industry has investors worried about the future of the U.S. Wind Market, which is the second largest in the world after China. This could cause companies that have invested in it to sell.
Shares of the two largest offshore wind farm developers in the world - Denmark's Orsted, and Germany's RWE as well as turbine manufacturers Siemens Energy Nordex and Vestas - were down between 2,9% and 7,3%.
It's the most costly energy. "It's many times more costly than clean natural gasoline so we're trying to have a policy that no windmills will be built", Trump said about wind energy during a late-night press conference in his Florida resort, calling wind turbines an environmental disaster.
"They litter our nation, they're littered everywhere in our country. Like dropping paper or garbage on a field. They are rotting, rusting and falling apart. And new ones have been placed next to them, as nobody wants to remove them. It is very expensive to remove them."
Trump has criticised the efforts of current president Joe Biden, who is attempting to boost green technology in the U.S. via the Inflation Reduction Act. This presents a significant growth opportunity for the solar, hydrogen and wind sectors.
Fear of regulatory change in Trump's second administration has already led to companies cancelling, adjusting or delaying expansion plans.
Douglas Lindahl, an analyst at DNB Markets, said that it was unclear as to how Trump would implement the plans given the importance of wind power in large Republican States such as Texas. Reporting by Marleen Kassebier and Christoph Steitz. Mark Potter edited the story.
(source: Reuters)
