Renewable energy giants brush off Trump’s anti-wind policies

The renewable energy giants seem relatively optimistic about the US president Donald Trumppolicy against the wind, describing the process of replacing fossil fuels with electric products as “absolutely unstoppable”.

Trump, who promised a new “the golden age” for America quickly took aim in his inaugural address on Monday low carbon energy initiatives.

In a independent executive orderAs many expected, the president temporarily suspended new or extended leases for offshore and onshore wind projects and halted leasing of wind energy projects on the outer continental shelf.

“We are not going to deal with the wind. Big ugly windmills, they’re destroying your neighborhood,” Trump told supporters at the Capital One Area in Washington on Monday. He previously called wind turbines an economic and environmental “disaster.”

The measures are part of a much broader energy offensive designed to “unleash” oil and gas production is already booming. This included declaring an energy emergency, promoting fossil fuel drilling in Alaska, and signing an executive order to withdraw the US from landmark Paris Agreement.

Joe Kezer, Chairman of the Supervisory Board Siemens Energyone of the world’s biggest renewable energy players seemed unfazed by Trump’s massive energy agenda. In fact, Kaeser considered the policy a “small plus” for the German energy technology group.

Shares of Siemens Energy jumped more than 8% Wednesday morning to hit a new 52-week high.

“We need to see what is behind all the orders and policies. So far, I think there are a lot of areas where Siemens Energy actually has a lot of value,” Kaser told CNBC’s Dan Murphy at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. , Switzerland on Tuesday.

Kaser said Trump’s measures are unlikely to directly affect Siemens Energy. That’s partly because roughly 80% of the company’s wind power market is in Europe, Kezer said.

“So I don’t think it’s going to move the needle. I’m much more concerned about the European economy and how they deal with a very powerful nation, with a very powerful concept. We may or may not like it, because it’s some nationalistic stuff, but if we look at it from the point of view of the American people, we’d better do something,” Caeser said.

Besides onshore and offshore wind, Keizer said Siemens Energy is well positioned to benefit from the “booming” electrification market.

“Think about data centers, artificial intelligence, we now have waiting times on large gas turbines. Customers actually come in and say, “Hey, can I book an order and I’ll pay you for the reservation? Just think about it. This hasn’t happened in a long time,” Keizer said.

“I believe that the era of electrification has just begun. Whether it’s gas turbines, wind, solar or something else, we have it all and the customers decide in the end. And I think you can’t underestimate one thing: the White House is not much (but) the customer buys,” he added.

The Spanish renewable energy giant Iberdrol was equally optimistic about the path to full electrification, describing the transition away from fossil fuels as “absolutely unstoppable”.

“We see that we are probably at the best moment for electrification,” Ignacio Galan, executive chairman of Iberdrola, told CNBC at WEF on Tuesday.

Galan mentioned the surge in global demand for electric-powered data centers, low-emission cars, and cooling and heating systems.

“All these things require more electricity 24 hours a day. Our business in the United States is mostly networking … and the regulation is up to the government, so I don’t think it’s affected at all,” Galan said.

“Depending on the legislation, we will make more or less investments in another part of our business,” he added, referring to Trump’s energy policy.

“We are very, very optimistic about the US and the future,” Galan said.

Denmark’s Orsted, which recently announced about approximately $1.7 billion US project impairment charges fell 4.4% on Wednesday morning, continuing sharp losses from the previous session.

The fast-growing offshore wind energy sector has endured a difficult period in recent years, hampered by rising costs, supply chain disruptions and higher interest rates.

Artem Abramov, head of new energy research at Rystad Energy, said Trump’s energy agenda essentially means the likelihood of any new offshore development in the U.S. has dropped to zero — at least for now.

“The U.S. currently has about 2.4 gigawatts (GW) of advanced offshore wind facilities that have reached a final investment decision and are under construction, which are unlikely to be affected by the order,” Abramov said in a research note published on Tuesday.

“Moderate risk in terms of an unfavorable investment climate is present for 10.5 GW of projects that have received the necessary permits, but have not reached investment decisions,” Abramov said.

“The remaining 25 GW of early-stage projects are unlikely to see progress under the current administration,” he added.

— CNBC’s Spencer Kimball contributed to this report.