RWE and Vestas CEOs see green power growth continuing no matter who wins US election
Krebber and Andersen point to rising power demand, thirst by tech companies and data centres for green electricity and IRA benefiting structurally weak regions
The chief executives of German energy giant RWE and Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas – both major players in the US renewables sector – expect the expansion of green power in America to continue at a fast pace, no matter who wins the upcoming elections there.
That kind of rhetoric has sent shivers through part of the renewables industry, but RWE CEO Markus Krebber doesn’t expect a rapid change in policies, although he didn’t mention Harris or Trump by name.
The CEO based his optimism on two factors.
Firstly, US electricity demand is growing strongly, he said, pointing to a 4% increase in the first six months of this year compared to the year-ago period, with renewables benefiting particularly from the demand surge.
“American technology companies want long-term supply contracts for green electricity without any government meddling,” he said, pointing to a power purchase agreement (PPA) RWE just closed with tech giant Meta, the company owning Facebook and Instagram, over electricity from two solar arrays in Illinois and Louisiana with almost 400MW in capacity combined.
“Secondly, it has become clear that promoting renewables through the Inflation Reduction Act has many advantages. The expansion of supply through the expansion of renewables makes electricity cheaper for private households, but also for business. This strengthens the competitiveness of the US as a whole.”
Not just established green power champions such as Texas, California or New York benefit from the IRA, but the legislation also “acts as a job engine and promotes investment in structurally weak regions,” Krebber said.
“Georgia and Michigan, for example, are also benefiting. Battery factories and other production facilities for new technologies have been built there thanks to the IRA's financial incentives.”
'Critical infrastructure'
Vestas CEO Henrik Andersen for his part acknowledged that there is uncertainty about the US election, but pointed to an outspoken “priority for critical infrastructure in the US.”
“We generally don’t see customers either slowing down or accelerating their projects due to this date coming up [the election] because the legislation is firmly there, at least when it comes to onshore.”
US voters will be asked to elect a new president on November 5, as well as the House of Representatives and a third of the Senate.
Andersen added: “I think everyone in all the states is preparing for more projects, more energy to be generated.
“Don’t forget there’s still the offtake coming from the data centres, the AI, and don’t forget green hydrogen.”
RWE’s Krebber also mentioned strong power demand from data centres and for AI as a reason behind the demand surge in the US.
(Copyright)