Essay by Eric Worrall
First published JoNova; Vestas CEO Henrik Andersen “We created awareness to some extent. … It was a mistake.” Vestas manufactures wind turbines.
The big mistake of Renewable Energy is a promise to always be cheaper
- Vestas CEO says industry has gone too far with its commitment to cheap energy
- Manufacturers are losing money even as clean electricity demand increases
Via Will Mathis November 8, 2022, 00:55 GMT + 10
Renewable energy producers have long made the promise of cheap electricity, a guarantee that has given them the edge over fossil fuels. But the pledge has gone too far, according to the world’s largest wind turbine maker.
Manufacturers like Vestas A/S Wind System are seeing losses pile up as orders collapse at a time when they should be taking advantage of the turmoil in the natural gas market. According to Henrik Andersen, chief executive officer of the Danish wind power giant, the reason – at least in part, is the industry’s insistence that clean electricity can only get cheaper.
“It misleads some people that energy and electricity have to be free,” Andersen said in an interview in London. “We have created awareness to some extent. So we are to blame for it. That’s a mistake.”
…
As a small business owner, I can assure you that the easiest way to shrink your order book is to give customers the wrong impression of how much they can afford. And that seems to be what Vestas did.
Innovation advocates including Bloomberg insist that Renewable energy is cheaper than coal. But in the real world, places with high renewable energy penetration are where the average consumer is hurt the most.
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