Vestas chief executive Henrik Andersen (pictured) has warned of “negative spillover” from US offshore wind upheaval that could push up the cost of capital for global projects.
The comments from the Vestas chief executive and WindEurope president were reported by the FT.
The FT stated that Andersen linked greater investor uncertainty to the Trump administration’s suspension of leases on all large US offshore wind projects on national security grounds.
He said 2025 would be a “rollercoaster” year for developers after stop-work orders from the administration.
Questioned about the industry’s cost trajectory, Andersen told the FT the cost of capital had not increased in the past year.
But he added that there was “a little uncertainty on some of the offshore markets – probably related out of what has happened in the US – and I think that could be a negative spillover to the cost-of-capital levels”, according to the news outlet.
He continued that Japan’s suspension of offshore wind auctions following Mitsubishi’s withdrawal, along with other troubled tenders, had added to uncertainty.
“When you have a 20 to 30-year investment programme, the only way you can cover yourself for risk is to ask for a higher return,” he said.
“When you get impairments in an industry, everyone would start saying, ‘could that hit us as well?'”