Solar Shares Jump as Congress Considers Extending Tax Credits

(Bloomberg) -- Clean-energy stocks are surging as the U.S. Congress considers extending tax breaks for wind and solar energy.

JinkoSolar Holding Co., one of the world’s biggest publicly traded panel producers gained as much as 16% Friday. Sunrun Inc., the biggest U.S. residential solar installer, rose as much as 7.7%. SunPower Corp. climbed as much as 12%.

Congress has debated several key bills addressing government funding and coronavirus relief. The tax package will likely include extensions for the production tax credit and the investment tax credit, which have long been major drivers for wind and solar in the U.S.

“The prospect of a tax extenders package is supporting many of the clean tech stocks that are U.S.-centric,” said Pavel Molchanov, an analyst with Raymond James.

Fuel cell companies, which also benefit from tax credits, gained too, with FuelCell Energy Inc. climbing as much as 8.4%. Plug Power Inc. rose 5.8%.

The incentives have been extended multiple times with bipartisan support in past years and it appears “there is little resistance” to another extension, Katie Bays, an analyst with FiscalNote Markets, said in a research note Friday.

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