No amount of friendly media coverage or tub-thumping advocacy can cover up the economic facts. Wind energy is a losing investment. The downhill momentum will accelerate as subsidies dry up. Danish Wind Energy Giant Crashes 25% in One Day, Blames “Severe” US Market Eric Worrall “… in talks with federal stakeholders to qualify for additional tax credits, which haven’t progressed as expected….” World’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm-Maker Crashes Most On Record After Catastrophic Results BY TYLER DURDEN THURSDAY, AUG 31, 2023 – 01:05 AM Orsted A/S was hit with a massive 16 billion Danish kroner ($2.3 billion) impairment on its US portfolio due to snarled supply chains, soaring interest rates, and easy money tax credits drying up — a warning sign the green energy revolution bubble is in trouble. CEO Mads Nipper warned investors on a conference call: “The situation in US offshore wind is severe.” Bloomberg explained more about the headwinds plaguing Orsted: The company’s Ocean Wind 1, Sunrise Wind, and Revolution Wind projects in the US are being hurt by supplier delays, which could lead to writedowns of up to 5 billion kroner, it said late Tuesday. High interest rates could also add another 5 billion. In addition, the developer is still in talks with federal stakeholders to qualify for additional tax credits, which haven’t progressed as expected. If unsuccessful, it could lead to impairments of as much as 6 billion kroner. Analysts at Bernstein warned clients in a note: “Today’s announcement flags risks in the US portfolio and does not do anything to improve the downbeat investor sentiment on the stock.” Read more: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/w...rashes-most-record-after-catastrophic-results One interesting aspect of this situation, is it highlights how vulnerable the renewables industry is to changes in the political landscape, even when they haven’t happened yet. WUWT focusses a lot on the Biden administration’s apparent reluctance to conduct oil lease sales, allegedly hostile EPA oversight, and other apparent attacks on the fossil fuel industry. But equally, renewable investors and operators are suffering night terrors over the possibility a future conservative president might completely cancel their subsidy life support, at least at a federal level. Let us hope the green industry’s worst fears are realised.
