The Wind Industry’s Success Has Become Its Biggest Threat
Rising interest rates, competition from oil companies, and demand for ever-lower priced renewable electricity are putting wind-power champions in a bind.
Offshore wind projects use large turbines to tap into stronger winds off the coasts.
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/BloombergThe head of one of the world’s biggest developers of renewable energy, Denmark’s Orsted A/S, worries that the energy transition could see a slowdown as rising competition and interest rates squeeze returns and upend the case for investment.
Orsted is the world’s largest developer of offshore wind farms, which it helped pioneer from a niche technology into one of the fastest-growing forms of renewable energy. Offshore projects can use much larger turbines — the size of skyscrapers — and are able to tap into stronger and more consistent winds off the coasts. Europe, China, and the US plan to rapidly increase their offshore wind fleets to reach their climate goals.