European wind stocks take beating after Trump calls turbines 'garbage'

Summary

• Trump: wind turbines 'litter' the United States
• Says wind power 'many times more expensive' than natural gas
• European wind stocks down 2%-7%

FRANKFURT - European wind power stocks fell on Wednesday after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said he would try to ensure that "no windmills" are built on his watch, criticising the sector less than two weeks before he is due to take office.

Trump's latest swipe against the industry raises concerns about how the U.S. wind market, the world's second-biggest after China, will develop in his second term, causing investors of companies with skin in the game to sell.

Shares in the world's two biggest offshore wind farm developers - Denmark's Orsted (ORSTED.CO) and Germany's RWE (RWEG.DE) - as well as turbine makers Siemens Energy (ENR1n.DE), Nordex (NDXG.DE) and Vestas (VWS.CO), closed 2.4%-7.4% lower.

"It's the most expensive energy there is. It's many, many times more expensive than clean natural gas so we're going to try and have a policy where no windmills are being built," Trump said of wind energy at a press conference at his Florida resort late on Tuesday, calling wind turbines a disaster.

"They litter our country, they're littered all over our country like dropping paper, like dropping garbage in a field ... They're rusting, rotting, closed, falling down ... And they put new ones next to them because nobody wants to take them down, because why should they take them down? It's very expensive to take them down."

DNB Markets analyst Douglas Lindahl said it was unclear how Trump would implement his plans given wind power's relevance in large Republican states, such as Texas.

Trump has been highly critical of efforts under current President Joe Biden to boost the U.S. green technology sector via the Inflation Reduction Act, creating a major growth prospect for players from the solar, wind and hydrogen sectors.

The fear of regulatory changes in Trump's second term has already caused companies to scrap, adjust or delay expansion plans, with offshore wind being a regular target of his criticism.

Germany's Siemens Energy, the world's largest maker of offshore wind turbines with substantial business in the United States, said turbines installed off coasts were just one part of its portfolio.

"The vast majority of our current offshore projects are in Europe, where we also see the biggest market demand," it said in response to Reuters questions.