Clean Energy Index Rises Most in a Year With Fed Rate Cuts in Sight

By Bloomberg

Dec 14, 2023

image is BloomburgMedia_S5NWJDT0AFB400_14-12-2023_19-00-10_638381088000000000.jpg

Bifacial photovoltaic solar panels at the Roadrunner solar plant, owned and operated by Enel Green Power, near McCamey, Texas, US, on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. In just three years, oil-rich Texas has added the solar equivalent of 12 nuclear reactors, putting it on the cusp of surpassing the California as the top producer of electricity from solar farms.

(Bloomberg) -- The Wilderhill Clean Energy Index rose as much as 14% over two days on Thursday as investors cheer the possibility of a soft landing in the world’s largest economy.

The surge was the biggest since November 2022 and came after Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell signaled that interest rates are at or near the peak. The rise comes after a tough year for the solar, wind and electric-vehicle charging industries, which suffered a $30 billion rout after being plagued by higher financing costs.

“It’s a pretty simple story,” said Rob Barnett, Bloomberg Intelligence senior analyst. “These are capital-intensive businesses, so when interest rates are lower that lowers the cost of doing business, whether it’s wind or solar.”

All but three stocks in the 77-member index climbed Thursday morning, led by TPI Composites Inc.’s 60% jump. The gauge includes leaders in clean-energy industries such as solar, wind and electric vehicles and includes Tesla Inc., Maxeon Solar Technologies Ltd. and ChargePoint Holdings Inc.

By Josh Saul , Geoffrey Morgan

CHPT:US FSLR:US NOVA:US RUN:US SHLS:US SPWR:US MAXN:US TPIC:US TSLA:US ALLTOP ALTNRG AUTOMOTIVE BON BUSINESS CMD CMDTOP CONS CONSD COS ELQ GOV INDUSTRIAL INDUSTRIES MAC MARKETS NORTHAM NRG NRGTOP STK TOP US UTI WORLD WWTOP WWTOPAM