Wind shares recover with Biden on the brink

European developers active in the US wind power market as well as manufacturers Vestas, Siemens Gamesa and Nordex have all seen share prices rise since the day after the US election.

Shares in Danish manufacturer Vestas – which has 28.2GW installed in the US, according to Windpower Intelligence – fell to DKK 1,004 on 4 November as Donald Trump appeared to be destined for four more years in the Oval Office.

The drop came as Vestas’ operating profit was also down slightly and its Ebit margin before special items was squeezed in Q3 amid widespread impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

But on the morning of 6 November, as the Democrat candidate Joe Biden appeared to be closing in on the US presidency, it shares opened at DKK 1,158.

In the same timeframe, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy shares rallied from €24.86 to €26.40, while Nordex shares rose from €11.74 to €13.06.

Leading renewable energy utilities and developers, including Enel, RWE, EDF and Ørsted also saw shares rises as the presidential election swung in the favour of Biden.

But America’s four biggest wind power states backed Trump. Texas, Iowa, Oklahoma and Kansas, representing the top US states for operational wind power capacity, all cast majority votes for the incumbent.