Solar energy is one of the most obvious forms of renewable energy to be harnessed. As long as the sun comes up in the morning, there’s a way to make electricity. Meanwhile, the technology being used to store this energy for use on less sunny days is becoming more robust by the day. As solar energy continues to become more advanced, our need for renewable energy also continues to grow desperately. President Joe Biden is wising up to these growing needs and solutions. His announcement today is doing well to lift solar power stocks.
This morning, the Biden administration is announcing its lofty ambition to transition America to a solar-heavy state. It plans to start America on the track to producing 45% of its energy as solar-sourced energy. For reference, just 4% of the energy produced by the country last year was solar. This is a significant jump, but it’s one that the administration believes is well within the realm of possibility.
The news comes at the tail end of a summer full of inclement weather events. With wildfires raging on the West Coast, Hurricane Ida tearing through Louisiana and up through the southeastern U.S., and torrential rain plaguing Europe, it’s quite obvious that climate change is an issue in need of addressing.
This sort of shift will require a huge restructuring of the energy industry over the next few years; solar installments will have to greatly increase in volume and speed in order to meet the goal by its 2050 deadline. The details behind this change are to be hashed out via the bipartisan infrastructure bill. The $3.5 trillion supplemental plan by Democrats will also hopefully help to advance progressive policy goals.
Solar Power Stocks Gain as Biden Looks to Expand on Green Energy
While details are on the horizon regarding how to finance and advance this goal, solar power stocks are already seeing a rise from the news.
iSun (NASDAQ:ISUN) is moving up 7% on the news, while also seeing transaction volume for the day increase eightfold over the average. Meanwhile, First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) stock is moving up over 2% and seeing 2.4 million shares trade against its 1.8 million average.
Other solar power stocks are not yet seeing benefits from the news. Array Technologies (NASDAQ:ARRY), for example, is trading down 6% this afternoon. SunPower (NASDAQ:SPWR) is losing about 1.5%. Both of these stocks are trading under their daily averages.
On the date of publication, Brenden Rearick did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
