In the News
Solar Inverter Shakeout: 3 Survivors, 2 Buyers, a Loser and a Wildcard
Forbes, June 8, 2012
“Solar Inverter industry economics have deteriorated with the decline in overall solar market and diminishing government budgets for solar incentives. Given the difficult demand picture and insufficient product differentiation the market is becoming commoditized and increasingly price-driven.”
Investing: Green technology has big growth potential
Los Angeles Times, August 28, 2011
“We pick companies for the Cleantech index from a few thousand that we could potentially choose from,” Coven said. “However, we are losing companies fast to acquisitions as established companies look for growth opportunities, and that makes it difficult to find good replacements.”
It is quite possible, he said, that in five years, there will be no more pure solar or wind businesses because they’ll all have been acquired by larger companies seeking stronger growth.
Invesco’s PowerShares Fund Leads Clean Energy Tracking With 7.6% Return
Bloomberg, March 2, 2011
The winner tracks the Cleantech Index produced by San Francisco-based Cleantech Group LLC. Rafael Coven, who manages the index, said the growth of clean technologies from recycling equipment and water purifiers to wind and solar power is “unstoppable,” and that the key to investing in the industry is to avoid a broad exposure by carefully screening stocks.
Getting the U.S. Clean Energy on ‘China Time’
Seeking Alpha, April 2, 2010
When I heard Obama’s offshore oil drilling announcement Wednesday, I furrowed my brow a bit. Then, right away, I checked the Oil Services HOLDRS ETF (NYSE: OIH). That index of companies, all of which bring crude oil up out of the earth, should benefit nicely from new fields in a stable geopolitical region… And sure enough, OIH gained about $2 overnight.
With solar overheated, here are two indirect ways to play climate change
BloggingStocks, October 15, 2009
Investors hoping to ride the climate change bandwagon have had a roller coaster ride over the past two years. Greentech stocks soared with t! he oil spike in 2007 and 2008, then crashed with stock market and commodity price declines in 2009. Since then, some of the most obvious stock plays have strongly rebounded. Many solar stocks have posted high double-digit gains since rebounding off year-to-date lows in March 2009.
This tax credit is wasteful, expert says
Financial Advisor magazine, March 4, 2009
The payback on solar electric systems, which can cost as much as $60,000, can be as long as 15 to 20 years, but the payback can be six months to five years for energy-efficiency options.
The Cleantech 10
Corporate Knights, November 1, 2008
The Cleantech Group’s Cleantech Index has consistently outperformed the NASDAQ Composite Index, The S&P 500 and the Russel 2000 Index, with 42.9 percent total annualized returns in 2007, and a return of 8.2 percent in the second quarter of 2008.
“In 20 years time there may not be a cleantech industry”
GLOBES, October 6, 2008
Rafael Coven, the man behind the global cleantech index, is confident that environmental awareness will become the benchmark and that polluting companies simply won’t survive.