We are supposed to be in the golden age for investing in green technology. The United States and Europe have passed major legislation over the last couple of years to spur investment in alternative energy, electric vehicles, charging infrastructure, battery technology, and more. But green tech investors have yet to reap the rewards. As we’ve repeatedly documented, macroeconomic headwinds are scalding solar stocks and blowing up off-shore wind power.
Solar Sucks Right Now. What About Batteries?
For instance, the Invesco Solar ETF (TAN) is down more than 40% over the last 12 months with one of its biggest holdings down 75% over the same timeframe. Revenue for SolarEdge (SEDG) fell off a cliff in Q3-2023 and the company is projecting even worse in the final quarter of 2023. We’ll get the full story after SolarEdge releases its year-end results at the end of February. In the meantime, SolarEdge just announced it would lay off 16% of its workforce. The leading manufacturer of solar inverters has already made some other cost-cutting moves to recover its mojo. It discontinued manufacturing in Mexico, reduced its manufacturing capacity in China, and dumped its e-mobility business.
One green tech company in the Nanalyze Disruptive Tech Portfolio portfolio, EnerSys (ENS), has also been shuttering and shedding businesses (and employees