How Wind Energy Overtook Nuclear in Just Two Decades | Ep261: Henrik Andersen

Today, wind power accounts for just under 10% of all electricity globally, around the same as solar, recently overtaking nuclear power. 20 years ago, the figure was under 1%. In that time, the sector’s leadership has moved around from Europe to the US to Asia, but one specialist European manufacturer has stayed in the leading group throughout: Vestas — a member of the global wind energy aristocracy. This week on Cleaning Up, Michael Liebreich is joined by Henrik Andersen, CEO of Vestas, to discuss the extraordinary growth in the wind energy industry, the challenges it faces with rising interest rates and political hostility, and where the best place to build turbines is in 2026. Together they do some myth-busting and answer: • If wind is so great, why does it need subsidies? • Is wind pointless because it’s intermittent? • Are turbines killing all the birds? • What happens to the turbines at the end of their lives? Leadership Circle: Cleaning Up is proud to be supported by its Leadership Circle. The members are Actis, Alcazar Energy, Arup, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Cygnum Capital, Davidson Kempner, Ecopragma Capital, EDP, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, Schneider Electric, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information about the Leadership Circle, visit cleaningup.live Links: • Vestas’ website: https://www.vestas.com/en/pages/campa... • Henrik Andersen’s LinkedIn:   / henrik-andersen-   • WindEurope 2026: From crisis to confidence — https://windeurope.org/news/windeurop... • Global Electricity Review 2026 | Ember Chapters: 00:00 - Coming Up 01:35 - Introduction 03:50 - What is Vestas? 08:15 - Supply Chains 14:50 - Subsidy Free Renewables 17:30 - Scaling Up Wind 19:30 - Cost of Wind Energy 25:00 - Why Is Europe Expensive? 27:30 - Impact of Interest Rates 32:45 - Why Does Wind Need Subsidies? 34:30 - Is Intermittency a Problem? 36:15 - Low Winds, Low Temperatures 40:09 - Do Wind Turbines Rely On Coal? 41:17 - What to do with Old Wind Turbine Blades? 43:20 - Do Wind Turbines Kill Birds? 46:05 - Global Pinch Points 49:00 - Data Security & Geopolitics 54:45 - Outro