RWE, which put a two-year pause on its U.S. offshore wind development efforts when President Donald Trump was re-elected, now is setting a higher bar for building renewables in the United States.
The German power company is looking for greater certainty and less risk before it makes any new decision to invest in a U.S. project.
All federal permits must be in place, tax credits must be safe harbored, all tariff risks must be mitigated and — for solar and onshore wind projects — offtake agreements must be secured.
“Only if these conditions are met will further investments be possible, given the political environment,” the company said.
The update came in remarks prepared for delivery by CEO Markus Krebber to shareholders at the company’s April 30 annual general meeting.
The remarks were released publicly April 25 and cover the range of challenges facing the company and how it is meeting them as it operates in more than 20 countries.
RWE surpassed 10 GW of U.S. installed capacity at the start of 2025 and plans the construction of 4 GW more.
Demand for electricity is higher in the United States than almost anywhere else, the company said, and renewables and storage are able to meet this demand relatively quickly, so the market environment is positive.
But uncertainties have expanded in the U.S. as in the rest of the world: Political tensions are palpable, tariffs are straining trade, supply chains are more fragile, and inflation and interest rates have risen.
So the company is being more cautious, raising its required return on investment from 8% to 8.5% and projecting lower earnings in 2025 than in 2024. Net investment will be reduced from 45 billion to 35 billion euros from 2025 to 2030; RWE invested a net 10 billion euros in 2024 alone.
Renewables are by far the largest source of electricity for RWE, and the CO2 emissions it creates while generating power continue to fall as it pursues net-zero status by 2040.
Nearly 150 generation projects with a combined 12.5 GW of capacity are under construction globally, and the majority of its newest assets are in the United States.
But the world’s No. 2 offshore wind developer appears unlikely to be erecting any of the giant wind turbines in U.S. waters anytime soon.
The U.S. offshore wind sector, which had enjoyed four years of strong support from President Joe Biden, was cast into doubt by the Nov. 5 election of Trump, who had said on the campaign trail he would halt wind turbine development.
RWE announced the two-year pause Nov. 13, citing the risk and uncertainty raised by his election, and other companies have made similar decisions. (See RWE Pauses Investments in US Offshore Wind.)
Just hours into his presidency, Trump followed through on his threat Jan. 20, directing a halt to future offshore wind leasing and a review of existing permits. The chilling effect this had on the industry was ratcheted up three months later with a stop-work order slapped on Equinor’s fully permitted Empire Wind 1 project.
RWE has a greater breadth of exposure to the U.S. offshore wind market than most companies, holding lease areas on the East, Gulf and West coasts — areas that have distinctly different technical challenges and political environments.
RWE’s most mature concept sits off the New York-New Jersey coast, where it and National Grid Ventures jointly hold a lease area and repeatedly have bid their Community Offshore Wind proposal into the two states’ various solicitations.
The latest iteration of Community — with a nameplate capacity of up to 2.8 GW and an early 2030s commercial operation date — was one of four proposals submitted for New York’s 2024 solicitation. (See NY Receives Largest OSW Proposal Yet.)
The proposed Attentive Energy was soon withdrawn, but the other three — Long Island Wind, Excelsior Wind and Community — still are listed as live proposals.
The state has limited its publicity about in-progress solicitations and plans to release no updates before completion of contract negotiations, which it had targeted for the first quarter of 2025.
