European clean energy stocks tumble as Trump wins presidency
Adds background in paragraph 2-3 and 10, analysts in paragraphs 5-9, Nordex comment in paragraph 11
By Stine Jacobsen
COPENHAGEN, Nov 6 (Reuters) -Shares in European clean energy groups plummeted on Wednesday after Donald Trump was elected president of the United States, as investors fretted over a potential dismantling of U.S. support for renewables and climate policy.
Trump had vowed to scrap offshore wind projects through an executive order on his first day in office and to roll back climate regulations implemented under President Joe Biden.
That includes leaving the Paris Agreement, under which countries pledge to limit global warming, and potentially undoing Biden's flagship Inflation Reduction Act, which provides massive subsidies and incentives to clean energy technologies.
The world's largest offshore wind developer Orsted ORSTED.CO fell 10% by 1133 GMT while wind turbine makers Vestas VWS.CO and Nordex NDXG.DE traded down around 8% and 6%, respectively.
"The key message is that uncertainty is back," Alphavalue analyst Pierre-Alexandre Ramondenc told Reuters.
The U.S. renewables market is a key growth sector for several European utility companies, including Portugal's EDP Renovaveis, Orsted, and Germany's top power producer RWE RWEG.DE, according to Deutsche Bank analysts.
"A full repeal of the IRA would depend on Congress, although significant changes might be possible," Deutsche Bank wrote in a note to clients.
While projects where construction had begun were likely to go ahead, Trump's policies could delay others such as offshore wind projects not due online until 2029 or later, the bank added.
Despite the uncertainty, Vestas and Orsted had said on Tuesday that they expected demand for green energy in the U.S. would continue to grow regardless of who won the presidency.
Nordex also remained optimistic about the U.S. onshore wind market but acknowledged potential delays in customer decisions due to uncertainty, a spokesperson told Reuters on Wednesday.
Shares in RWE RWEG.DE, which also has wind assets, fell 3.4%, while EDP Renovaveis, traded 7.7% lower.
Vestas, Orsted and EDP were the biggest decliners on the pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX.
EDP declined to comment while RWE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Reporting by Stine Jacobsen, additional reporting by Danilo Masoni and Louis van Boxel-Woolf, editing by Jan Harvey and Bernadette Baum
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
