Copper Mountain Solar in El Dorado Valley, pictured on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in Boulder City, Nevada. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Bizuayehu Tesfaye | Tribune News Service | Getty Images
Solar stocks sold off overnight as investors see Donald Trump leading in the U.S. presidential election.
Solar stocks are falling on fears that a possible Trump victory would spell trouble for the Inflation Reduction Act, which has fueled a clean energy boom in the U.S. through tax credits to expand solar energy.
NBC News had projected that Trump had gained a sizable Electoral College lead, effectively narrowing Vice President Kamala Harris’ path to victory.
The benchmark Invesco Solar ETF was down more than 8% in premarket trading. The solar panel manufacturer First Solar tumbled 11%. Residential solar stocks Sunrun and Sunnova fell 12% and 17%, respectively. Inverter manufacturer Enphase tumbled 9% and Nextracker was down nearly 14%.
Trump’s campaign platform calls for the termination of the IRA, which he refers to as the “Socialist Green New Deal.” The IRA is one of President Joe Biden’s signature achievements. The law passed on party-line vote in 2022 without any Republican support.
Trump is leading in the electoral college and is projected to win the key swing state of North Carolina, according to NBC News. The future of the IRA, however, will depend not only on whether Trump wins the White House, but whether Republicans also secure control of Congress.
Kamala Harris’ campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon told staff in an email Tuesday that the clearest path to victory for the vice president lies in the so-called Blue Wall states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.