"Like after a world war"

Trump’s victory threatens a new energy price shock

Will Trump's victory bring a new price shock in Europe?

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/APA/AFP/Getty Images/Chip; , stock.adobe.com)

How will Donald Trump's election victory affect energy prices? Will there be another price shock? The expected policies of the future US president will force Austria to make a massive push towards energy independence. We are facing an energy build-up on the scale of that seen after the Second World War.

In 2023, the EU purchased almost 50 percent of its total gas imports (liquefied natural gas, LNG) from the USA. This corresponds to 120 billion cubic meters (bcm). This figure has tripled since 2021!

With an unpredictable US president who, like his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, uses gas as political leverage for his own interests, gas imports will become more expensive. This will also affect Austria.

Experts are warning of rapid price increases similar to those at the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine in 2022.

Expansion of renewable energies the only way forward
The answer to this can only be the expansion of renewable energies. This is the only way Austria and Europe can finally free themselves from dependence on foreign gas imports and protect consumers from unpredictable price spikes.

More domestic renewable energy will reduce precisely this cost burden, IG Windkraft points out.

Wind power

Wind energy can contribute 25 TWh to domestic electricity generation by 2030. This will trigger an investment volume of around ten billion euros in Austria. Wind power will thus create 28,600 annual jobs. The domestic value added by these wind turbines amounts to almost 7.2 billion euros over their 20-year lifespan.

Austria's security of supply with affordable and secure energy is currently at risk. On the one hand, there is a massive technological upheaval that is causing old technologies to disappear. There is more and more electrification and digitalization. Just as after the Second World War, a massive commitment to a secure and affordable energy supply is now needed.

Trump's election victory makes the urgency for the new federal government even greater. It must act in the coming legislative period, emphasizes Florian Maringer, Managing Director of IG Windkraft.

Florian Maringer appeals to the government.

(Bild: A. Knie)

"Austria's energy independence is more important than ever, not least due to the geopolitical situation. A government that enables the right framework conditions can achieve the necessary speed within a very short time and deliver the contribution that the population and the economy expect over the next five years. The wind industry is ready to make its contribution with more companies than ever before."