Wind Power Hits a Trough
Gabriel Alonso, who runs one of America’s biggest wind-farm developers, often reminds his employees their goal isn’t to stage a renewable-energy revolution.
“This is about making money,” the chief executive of Horizon Wind Energy LLC tells his troops. And right now, his strategy is to retrench.
After years of blustery growth, wind power is facing a blow-back in some of its major markets. It is reeling from lackluster electricity demand in many mature economies, rock-bottom prices for competing natural gas in the U.S. and uncertainty throughout much of the world about government subsidies. Companies that make wind turbines are slashing production at some plants and reconsidering previous expansion.
