From the Daily Skeptic
Chris Morrison
Many renewable energy stocks are dog stocks and should be avoided at all costs by investors looking for a reasonable return on investment. Perhaps this isn’t the advice you receive in the advertising-damaged financial pages of mainstream media, and it’s certainly not the message that resonates with the promoters of the net-zero fantasy. The Renewable Energy Industry Index (RENIXX), a widely referenced global stock market capitalization index of the world's 30 largest renewable energy industry companies, has consistently shown near-zero growth since its launch in 2006, with reverse forecasts going back to 2002 only in It has lost nearly half its value in the past three years alone.
The retail exchange-traded fund iShares Global Clean Energy aims to “target global clean energy stocks.” Its value fell by 26.1% last year, more or less halving its initial investment of £10,000 since its inception in 2008. Greencoat Renewable PLC is a UK-listed investment trust and owner and operator of European renewable energy infrastructure assets. It is said to offer “attractive risk-adjusted returns and compelling growth opportunities; supported by a strong regulatory regime and managed by experienced investment managers” – which explains the share price over the past five years An imaginative way to lose 18.6%.
In the real world where money talks, it is becoming increasingly obvious that many green technologies, unless subsidized by the state, will only provide unprofitable, second-rate solutions to the problems posed by the politicized climate crisis.
Here is a chart showing the real world performance of RENIXX. Consider also that an investment in the US Dow Jones Industrial Average would quadruple over the same period.
RENIXX covers a wide range of activities, including wind power manufacturing and supply, as well as solar photovoltaic cell producers. Current members of the index include Orsted, Tesla and Vestas Energy Systems. The latter's shares have risen just 7% in the past 16 years and are down 58% from their 2021 highs. its entire share price.
In fact, if Tesla's performance was removed from the charts, many indexes (such as RENIXX) would look worse. Over its lifetime, Elon Musk's Tesla stock has gained a staggering 18,000%, although it, like nearly all green stocks in recent years, has suffered losses. But Tesla is the value exception Real clean energy It is pointed out that by 2021, its value will soar to more than 1 trillion US dollars, surpassing Toyota, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, General Motors, Ford, BMW and Honda combined. Its strong gains helped reverse the poor performance of other green stocks, including electric car makers. Real clean energy pointed out that since 2020, 31 electric vehicle companies have been listed on U.S. stock exchanges, but only China's Li Auto Company has seen its share price rise since its initial public offering. Most were real surprises, but Fisker (-99%), Nikola (-94%), NIO (-50%), Lucid group (-75%) and Rivian (-88%) recorded the most prominent disasters . Six other companies have gone bankrupt.
Plug Power, an electric vehicle company that supplies hydrogen energy systems, has never made a profit in its 27 years of existence. In 2024, the company lost $1.45 billion, up from a $43.8 million deficit in 2018. Even large companies find recycling equipment a challenge. In 2023, Ford sold 116,000 electric vehicles and lost $4.7 billion, with a loss of more than $40,000 per vehicle. GE's wind turbine business lost $1.1 billion in 2023.
Of course, the excuses abound. But the Green Revolution was not a free-market gold rush. It peddles second-rate solutions, producing devices such as cars that the market is unwilling to buy in large quantities. Collecting breezes and beams is only feasible with significant subsidies from distressed consumers. No one would build windmills to power the grid without first stuffing them with taxpayer gold. In the UK, where electricity prices have skyrocketed, wind and solar power account for just 6% of total energy demand, costing £12 billion a year. In the United States, the Biden administration has invested a lot of money in a desperate attempt to promote the green economy, but few people are willing to use their hard-earned money to start and support the green economy.
The pleading nature of many green companies may explain why their share prices have plummeted, low interest rates have ended and inflation has risen. But given exciting free money and subsidies designed to guarantee profits, the opportunists will initially come up with all sorts of outlandish schemes to save the planet. At the UK Department of Energy, crazy Ed Miliband and his band of weird nerds are currently solving a number of financial black holes, including carbon capture, hydrogen production and battery storage.
But funding and borrowing capacity for luxury pet schemes across Europe are running out, and seemingly limitless government spending will have to end in the near future. There are growing concerns about the environmental damage caused by electric vehicles, the lack of domestic green jobs, the further deindustrialization of Western economies, and the horrific (and largely unreported) toll on wildlife caused by the unbridled growth of wind turbines in rural areas. )loss.
It is said that if you want to predict how people will vote in an election, the prices provided by bookmakers are a more reliable guide than polls, which are often distorted in the interests of paying customers. The next time someone bets on a green story, ask them what their value is in the real business world, where hard-earned cash isn't necessarily God, but it is a deeply religious experience. In these cases, past results can be a good guide to future performance.
Chris Morrison is daily skepticEnvironment editor.
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