Guest essay by Eric Worrall

h/t GWPF, JoNova – Global climate champion China just sent shockwaves through their domestic solar industry by slashing government support for grid scale and distributed solar projects.

Why The Lights Went Out On Solar Stocks Today

China threw solar investors for a loop today and the impact on solar manufacturers could last for years.

Travis Hoium (TMFFlushDraw)
Jun 4, 2018 at 3:15PM

What happened

Solar stocks took a beating Monday after China cut its national incentives to install solar projects. Shares of solar panel manufacturers Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ) fell as much as 14.5%, JinkoSolar Holding Co. (NYSE:JKS) dropped as much as 17%, and Daqo New Energy Corp (NYSE:DQ) fell as much as 31.3% while inverter manufacturer Enphase Energy Inc (NASDAQ:ENPH) fell up to 13.5%. By early afternoon, most major stocks in the solar industry were down double digits.

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There’s also uncertainty as to when China’s solar market may recover. If local governments implement stringent rules on how solar installations are compensated, it could dampen demand for years. There’s simply no positive way to spin today’s news and that’s why solar stocks are falling across the board.

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Read more: https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/06/04/why-the-lights-went-out-on-solar-stocks-today.aspx

China has experienced a few energy policy upsets recently. A botched coal to gas conversion left people shivering in unheated homes and shuttered factories last winter. Perhaps the risks of embracing renewables – grid instability, upwards pressure on electricity prices – would have been too much on top of their other problems.