Vestas CEO says Trump’s tariffs to push global power prices, urges calm on US market’s long-term prospects

The sweeping tariffs introduced by US president Donald Trump could lead to higher electricity prices around the world, said Hendrik Andersen, CEO of Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas, in an interview with business newspaper Handelsblatt. Prices in industry supply chains are set to rise with the tariffs, which producers would ultimately pass on to consumers, Andersen said.

He added that wind power would not necessarily be hit harder by these effects than other industries. “If the world is entering a recession, investments will decline in the construction of new installations. No matter if it’s wind, solar, oil or gas.” However, the manager of the world’s leading wind turbine producer outside of China added that the long-term prospects for wind power remained solid also in the US market. “The situation hopefully will calm down so that we know what we’re dealing with,” Andersen said. “People need more energy, especially in the US. Wind turbines can be installed quickly and at low cost,” he argued, pointing out that 40 gigawatts of new capacity were added even during Trump’s first term. “Let’s wait and see if there’s a positive turnaround for this.”

With a view to Germany, Andersen said that debates about an overcrowding of offshore wind turbines in the North Sea are out of touch with reality, given that currently only about five GW are installed there, he argued. “Before we can talk about this in maybe ten years, it would be better to get started first.”