First published in Quoted Cleantech, June 2010. Copyright Cleantech Investor Ltd. 2010 

The problems in the Greek economy and the implications for the Eurozone had a negative impact on stock market sentiment during May. The cleantech sector was not immune, with stocks crashing during the month in line with markets generally.

Cleantech investors might take comfort from the fact that their holdings have outperformed BP. BP’s share price fell by over 24% during the month as the company struggled to stop the flow of oil from the deepwater oil spill off the US coast. The implications of the environmental disaster resulting from the spill might be expected to be positive for the renewable energy sector. President Obama has taken dramatic measures to put deep water drilling on hold, and there are hopes that he will be able to push through the Climate Change Bill in the wake of the backlash resulting from the BP disaster. However, there are few indications that the cleantech sector has benefited from any positive boost to sentiment. The Ardour Solar Energy Index dropped by over 21% during May, taking its losses for the year to date to 36%. The WilderHill Clean Energy Index fell 14.6%, making its fall for the year to date over 20%.  

The tough stock market conditions are dashing hopes that the IPO market might recover this year. Ilika was one successful new issue which did manage to list on the AIM market during May (see below). However, Spanish solar giant, T-Solar, announced that it had postponed its planned IPO at the end of April. The T-Solar postponement was a response to the uncertainty about the regulatory situation of the solar industry in Spain, which gave rise for concern about the specific market of the company, rather than the result of general stock market conditions. However, it was damaging for sentiment.

The planned IPO of US electric sports car manufacturer, Tesla Motors, is understood to be imminent. Tesla announced in May that Toyota Motor Corporation will make an investment of $50 million in Tesla, in a private placement which is expected to close immediately after the IPO, which has been reported to be scheduled for June. It remains to be seen whether Tesla can get its IPO away in the current tough market conditions. If it succeeds, it may bode well for the sector. There are a host of cleantech companies lining up to list: let’s hope that sentiment recovers and that the second half of 2010 sees a resurgence of cleantech IPOs.

 

< Prev		Next >