MarketsMuse blog update profiles solar ETFs such as Guggenheim Solar ETF (NYSEARCA:TAN) and Market Vectors Solar Energy ETF (NYSEARCA:KWT) bright future thanks to China’s clean energy drive. This update is courtesy of Seeking Alpha’s article, “China’s Clean Energy Drive Brightens Solar Power ETFs” by ETFTrends reporter, Tom Lydon, with an extract below.
China revealed a huge surge in photovoltaic panel installations over the first quarter, a typically slow season for the industry, and if the country maintains its pace, it could portend a strong year for solar stocks and sector-related exchange traded funds.
Year-to-date, the Guggenheim Solar ETF (NYSEARCA:TAN) jumped 40.8% and the Market Vectors Solar Energy ETF (NYSEARCA:KWT) increased 30.3%.
On Monday, the China National Energy Administration announced that the country added 5.04 gigawatts of solar capacity, or just shy of France’s entire solar capacity, in the first three months of the year, Bloomberg reported.
China is planning to install as much as 17.8 gigawatts of solar power this year, or two-and-a-half times the capacity added by the U.S. in 2014, as part of its aggressive plans to cut carbon emissions. For instance, the country’s recent move away from small coal plants will avoid the annual release of as much as 11.4 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide, which could help cut emissions for the first time in over a decade, Today Online reports.
Chinese companies make up 22.9% of TAN’s underlying holdings and a hefty 38.4% of KWT’s portfolio.
To continue reading about the effects that China’s push for clean energy has on the solar ETFs, click here.