Cleantech stocks robust in 2007, so far
The Cleantech Index, which tracks 47 publicly traded companies in the cleantech sector, is doing quite well these days. If you managed to invest in the PowerShares Cleantech Portfolio (ticker: PZD on the AMEX) in early March, you’ve enjoyed a 24 per cent return on your shares — not bad. Cleantech Indices LLC, part of the Cleantech Group, announced today that it was adding EnerNOC, Comverge and LDK Solar to the index. EnerNOC and Comverge both have products for energy demand-management on the grid, an area that’s expected to receive more attention over the coming years as utilities look for ways to smooth out peak electricity demand and ease pressure on the electricity system.
Since the beginning of the year, the Cleantech Index has seen an 18 per cent increase, compared to 8 per cent from the Nasdaq Composite Index, 7 per cent from the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index and 7 per cent from the S&P 500 Index. It’s a positive reflection on the sector and the opportunity.
Tyler Hamilton is senior energy reporter and columnist for the Toronto Star, Canada's largest daily newspaper. In addition to this Clean Break blog, Tyler writes a weekly column of the same name that discusses trends, happenings and innovators in the cleantech market. This blog is a personal project started in April 2005. It is not an official blog of the newspaper. Tyler can be reached at tyler@cleanbreak.ca