The Uptime Wind Energy Podcast

The Wind Industry Remains Resilient


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This episode covers how the wind industry is adapting to political and regulatory challenges, from Ørsted's legal battle to restart Revolution Wind to a wind executive preparing to row across the Atlantic for ocean conservation.
Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly email update on all things wind technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather Guard's StrikeTape Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Linkedin and visit Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary Barnes' YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us!
There's something fascinating happening in the world of wind power right now. Something that tells us less about the technology itself, and more about human determination.
You know the story - Danish energy giant Ørsted the world's largest offshore wind developer - spent five billion dollars building the Revolution Wind project off the coast of Rhode Island. Eighty percent complete. Three hundred and fifty thousand homes depending on the electricity.
Then, one August morning, the phone rings - The new administration says: "Stop. Everything. Now."
Just like that, Orsted is losing a reported two million dollars every single day the turbines sit idle.
Last Monday, federal judge Royce Lamberth looked at the government's reasoning and said - and I quote - "There is no question in my mind of irreparable harm." He ordered work to resume immediately.
Ørsted's stock jumped. The workers went back to their jobs. The turbines will spin again.
Meanwhile, President Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" has triggered something nobody saw coming: the great wind energy consolidation.
Clean energy deals jumped from seven billion dollars to thirty-four billion dollars in just six months.
Companies like Agilitas Energy are swooping in, buying up distressed assets from companies that may struggle with the new reality.
As Barrett Bilotta from Agilitas put it: "We are on the buy side."
Across the Atlantic, let's talk about France. Now, you might think the French would be leading the offshore wind revolution. After all, they've got coastline, they've got technology, they've got TotalEnergies.
But you'd be wrong.
Patrick Pouyanne, TotalEnergies' chief executive, put it bluntly this week: "It's hell to invest in France for regulatory reasons."
Get this - it takes two and a half to three years just to bid on offshore wind projects in France. In Germany, Pouyanne can get permits twice as fast.
"I don't understand," Pouyanne said, "why we're able to renovate Notre Dame Cathedral in five years and unable to build solar or wind plants at the same pace."
And yet - here's the kicker - even as he criticized his home country, TotalEnergies just won the contract for France's largest offshore wind farm ever. One and a half gigawatts off the coast of Normandy.
But here's where the story gets interesting. While France stumbles with red tape, parts of North America is waking up.
Up in Nova Scotia, Minister Sean Fraser announced this week that Canada is moving full steam ahead with offshore wind development. They're calling it part of a sixty billion dollar opportunity.
The Canadians are doing something smart: they're learning from everyone else's mistakes. Streamlined processes. Clear timelines.
So what does all this tell us?
It tells us that wind energy isn't just about technology anymore. It's about adaptation. It's about resilience. It's about knowing when to fight and when to pivot.
Ørsted fought in court - and won. TotalEnergies called out France's bureaucracy - while quietly building their biggest offshore wind farm ever. Canada saw opportunity in others' uncertainty.
And the smart money? It's buying up assets while they're cheap, knowing that the wind is a long-term investment.
Speaking of people who understand resilience,
...more
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The Uptime Wind Energy PodcastBy Allen Hall, Rosemary Barnes, Joel Saxum & Phil Totaro

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