Wind Energy Companies Facing Headwinds – ENERGYminute

Courtesy of Energy Monitor

Headwinds: favourable for wind turbines but nothing short of a bad time for the wind industry.

What happened: Wind companies are quietly sobbing watching the endless parade of “record” profits from oil and gas companies.

• Looking at you, Saudi Aramco…

On the other side, where the grass and balance sheets are decidedly less green, wind developers are struggling.

• Vestas and Orsted, two of the world’s largest renewable energy companies, both reported underperformance of market expectations in their quarterly reports.
• Not to be outdone, the German industrial group Siemens recently reported its first quarterly loss in nearly 12 years. The bulk of the historic loss has been scapegoated to their stake in Siemens Energy, which holds their wind turbine subsidiary Siemens Gamesa.

Where to place the blame: For Siemens Gamesa, the shortfall is largely due to rising raw material prices. For Vestas and Orsted, both chief executives have criticized governments for delaying project permitting.

• Analysis has shown that the EU collectively has 4 times more wind capacity stuck in permitting than under construction. That number more than doubles for both Germany and Spain.

Zoom out: At a time when energy of any kind is desperately needed, the criticism is not unwarranted.

Vestas and Orsted executives commended the upcoming US climate legislation supporting renewable development. Most companies will be hoping for government support similar to the US’ newest climate bill to be their hero and the wind beneath their wings.

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