Vestas Soars as Trump Tax Rules Seen Better Than Feared
(Bloomberg) -- Vestas Wind Systems A/S shares jumped on Monday after guidance issued by US government agencies brought much-anticipated clarity to the rules on how clean energy projects can qualify for tax credits.
Shares rose as much as 18%, the steepest intraday gain since July 2022 in Copenhagen. Certainty on the scope of President Donald Trump’s tax bill had already eased a bottleneck for new wind turbine orders and this guidance on the bill’s implementation is a final hurdle to unleashing investment, Vestas Chief Executive Officer, Henrik Andersen told investors last week.
Wind and solar assets that start generating after Dec. 31 2027 don’t get a tax credit unless construction begins by July 4 2026, which could mean a rush to start building in order to qualify. Eligibility is measured by physical work carried out at the site, not by investment, according to the guidance.
The so-called “safe harbor” rule has been eliminated, where developers can delay physical work by paying at least 5% of the costs but projects with existing safe harbor will be allowed to retain it.
The rules are less stringent than many analysts were expecting and could open up a wave of wind turbine orders for Vestas. The company is a major supplier to wind farm developers in the US, where Trump has cut back support for the power source since his election.
“We see close to the best possible outcome in the guidance compared to initial talks,” analysts at Jefferies wrote in a note.
Analysts at Citigroup Inc. said the rule changes were far more lenient than expected, while those at RBC Capital Markets said the news is fairly positive for Vestas, against earlier fears of more stringent restrictions.
The jump in the share price advance added the equivalent of about $3 billion to the company’s market value, taking it to more than $21 billion. Other European renewables stocks also strengthened on the news. EDP Renovaveis SA climbed as much as 6.9%, Nordex SE advanced as much as 4.4% and Orsted AS rose 4.1%.
(Updates throughout.)
©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
