Philip Anschutz: Wind Energy ‘Power People’

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6th Annual Guide to the Top 100 Power People

A Word About Wind has published its sixth annual guide to the Top 100 Power People, in association with Sentient Science. The report ranks the major influencers in the global wind energy sector and offers in-depth interviews with leading investors, utilities and developers in the space.

This year’s report has a particular focus on the growing significance of the US market, as reflected in the ranking of Philip Anschutz, American multi-billionaire and owner of the Power Company of Wyoming, at number one.

Anschutz, who has made a reported $12bn fortune in sectors including oil, heads the 2017 list of 100 most influential players in wind energy.

According to the annual Top 100 Power People, a report published by industry intelligence service A Word About Wind, in association with headline sponsor Sentient Science, the report ranks the major influencers in the global wind energy sector and offers in-depth interviews with leading investors, utilities and developers in the space.

A key theme in this year’s ranking is the US wind energy markets is continued resilience in the face of the potential challenges posed by President Trump’s administration.

Anschutz has secured the top spot by providing a welcome to the industry. Anschutz’s estimated $12bn wealth is largely due to the oil drilling company he took over from his father in the 1960s, as well as his work in sectors including entertainment, real estate, telecoms and transportation. Anschutz is known for investing in industries that are on the cusp of major change, and the planned 3GW wind farm on his land in Wyoming is a testament to the business tycoon’s conviction that wind is on the rise. If completed as planned, the project will be the largest onshore wind farm in North America.

“While our focus is global, this year’s Top 100 Power People ranking has been significantly influenced by determined participants in the US wind sector – from financial service providers to developers and utilities – who have refused to let their enthusiasm be dampened by Trump’s public derision of renewables,” said Richard Heap, Editor, A Word About Wind.

“Aside from this, the fact that our top spot has been taken by Philip Anschutz, a man with a highly successful track record in business but little previous involvement in clean energy, is a testament to the exciting position the wind industry finds itself in,” he added. “It shows that people are starting to realise that renewables, even without their other benefits, simply make the most business sense – both in the US and worldwide.”

The report features E.On’s Anja-Isabel Dotzenrath on this year’s cover. Dotzenrath is another major player who remains optimistic about the future of the US renewables industry, citing E.On’s ‘ambitious plans’ in North America, which she views as a ‘very attractive’ market.

Dotzenrath’s market perspectives are accompanied in the report by additional in-depth interviews with sector experts. Jens Tommerup of MHI Vestas explores the implications of increasing turbine sizes, and discusses the future of offshore, while Ward Thomas of Sentient Science explains how developments in materials science are reducing the cost of wind energy.

BlackRock’s David Giordano also offers his thoughts on the world’s largest wind and solar fund, and on the pressure to improve the grid through transmission lines.

The Top 100 Power People was initially launched at A Word About Wind’s annual conference, ‘Financing Wind’. The 2017 event took place with panel discussions with senior investors and industry leaders.

See: www.awordaboutwind.com/events/

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Photo: Forbes