This year is turning out to be a good one for solar energy equipment makers and project developers. Solar panel makers saw a 92% jump in shipments in the second quarter from a year ago, and market research firms have issued bullish outlooks for the industry.
So far, much of the U.S. has experienced a bitterly cold winter, and the harsh weather is forecast to linger through February. It's been a boon for some sectors of the economy, even as it drags down others.
In a political victory, Barack Obama emerged from the climate summit in Copenhagen Friday with a global deal to reduce earth-harming emissions. But greens were disappointed the cuts weren't binding while skeptics were sad there was any deal at all.
As the world's leaders converge for the global climate summit, the clouds over what had been deemed a fairly useless exercise in geopolitical stagecraft appear to be lifting. Most dramatic is a proposal that rich nations provide a $100 billion per year to help poorer nations cope with emission cuts.
The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that it won't raise interest rates anytime soon, indicating that it doesn't see inflation as a threat in the U.S. But not every nation shares our situation. In India, wholesale food prices were up 19.95% year-over-year for the week ending Dec. 5.
Until now, green companies in the developing world have lacked a yardstick to track their stock performance versus the rest of the market. The newly introduced "carbon-efficient index" fills that gap -- just in time for the Copenhagen climate meetings.
