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irst published JoNova; Vestas CEO Henrik Andersen “We created the perception to some extent. … That was a mistake.”. Vestas manufactures wind turbines.
Renewable Power’s Big Mistake Was a Promise to Always Get Cheaper
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- Vestas CEO says industry went too far with cheap-energy pledge
- Producers are losing money even as clean-power demand grows
By Will Mathis 8 November 2022, 00:55 GMT+10
Renewable-energy producers have long touted the promise of cheap electricity, an assurance that’s helped them eat into the dominance of fossil fuels. But the pledge has gone too far, according to the world’s biggest wind-turbine maker.
Manufacturers such as Vestas Wind Systems A/S are seeing losses pile up as orders collapse at a time when they should be capitalizing on the turmoil in natural-gas markets. To blame — at least in part — is the industry’s insistence that clean electricity can only get cheaper, according to Henrik Andersen, chief executive officer of the Danish wind giant.
“It made some people make the wrong assumption that energy and electricity should become free,” Andersen said in an interview in London. “We created the perception to some extent. So we are to blame for it. That was a mistake.”
As a small business owner, I can assure you the easiest way to shrink your order book is to give customers the wrong impression of how much they can expect to pay. And that appears to be what Vestas has done.
Renewable advocates including Bloomberg insist that renewable energy is cheaper than coal. But back in the real world, places with high renewable penetration are where ordinary consumers are hurting the most.
