The suspension of offshore wind leasing by incoming US President Donald Trump has significantly impacted European wind power companies.
On the first day of his second term in office, Trump halted new federal offshore wind leasing pending economic and environment review, as reported by Reuters.
Trump described the turbines as expensive, harmful to wildlife and ugly.
This decision has led to a decline in shares of several European companies involved in the wind power sector.
Denmark's Ørsted experienced the largest decline, with shares plummeting 17% after taking a $1.69bn impairment charge on US projects.
Delay and increased costs for Ørsted's Sunrise Wind project, anticipated to be the largest US offshore wind farm, were cited as the key factors in the price drop.
Other European companies also saw share declines. Portugal's EDP Renovaveis shares fell by 1.6%, Germany's RWE by 0.5%, Norway's Equinor by 2.2% and wind turbine manufacturer Vestas by almost 3% in afternoon trading of 21 January 2025.
Italy's Prysmian announced it would abandon plans to build a US plant for offshore wind park cables, resulting in a 1% share drop.
US nuclear companies saw a rise in stocks due to Trump's support.
Uranium miners such as Energy Fuels and enCore Energy rose more than 4%, while nuclear power companies such as Vistra, Talen Energy and Constellation Energy saw increases between 4% and 8%.
Chris Wright, Trump's energy secretary nominee, is prioritising expanding domestic energy production, including nuclear power and liquefied natural gas.
The American Clean Power Association has criticised Trump's executive order on wind leasing and permitting, warning that it could lead to higher consumer energy bills in states dependent on wind power.
According to OpenSecrets data, in 2024 the oil and gas industry contributed $32.3m to Trump and affiliated groups, while the US renewable sector contributed only $453,687.
The renewable industry donated $2.9m in political contributions, with 78.7% supporting Democrat candidates.
