Ill Wind

Big Wind faces “existential threat,” Ørsted and Shell book massive offshore losses, Enel files appeal on Osage County verdict.

Barack Obama famously said, “Elections have consequences.”

For proof of that, look no further than the carnage hitting Big Wind. A few days ago, Jason Grumet, the head of the American Clean Power Association (annual revenue: $62.3 million), told Heatmap News that “probably more than half” of all new wind projects under development in the US could be killed due to President Trump’s executive order requiring a “comprehensive assessment” of federal permitting. Heatmap explained that Trump’s policies pose “a potential existential threat to the industry’s future. Just don’t expect everyone to say it out loud.”

Whether the facts are screamed from rooftops or made sotto voce, the results are obvious: the offshore and onshore wind sectors are in full-blown panic mode. Trump’s executive orders, particularly the one requiring the federal government to assess the wind industry’s impact on wildlife — have had an immediate and chilling effect on wind projects onshore and offshore.

President Trump during a January 23 interview: “We don't want windmills in this country.”

The controversial Lava Ridge wind project in Idaho was killed by a Trump executive order and won’t be revived. Offshore projects in the US and around the world are being canceled or delayed. Rural resistance against wind projects remains fierce. The new Congress could repeal or reduce the lavish tax credits that have long fueled the industry’s growth. Further, in December, the Osage Nation secured a massive win over Enel in federal court in the longest-running legal battle over wind energy in US history.

Here's a rundown of Big Wind’s woes including falling capacity additions, rising prices, and Enel’s desperate appeal of the December ruling that requires it to remove 84 wind turbines in Osage County. (With three charts.)