Solar Energy Index Opens for Business
The Ardour Solar Energy Index of 27 global solar energy stocks began real-time price dissemination on April 21. Data became available through most data vendors. Dow Jones Indexes serves as calculation agent for the indexes.
SOLRX is a member of the Ardour family of alternative energy indexes, which serve as leading alternative energy industry benchmarks.
The Solar Energy Index was designed to serve as a fair, impartial, and transparent measure of the performance of the global solar energy industry. It includes stocks from six countries, including China, the United States, and Germany. Companies included in the index must generate at least 66 percent of their total revenues from solar energy. Overall, the index derives more than 90 percent of its revenues from the industry.
"Although we've seen the sector sell off over the first quarter after a strong run up last year, index companies continue to report record revenue and earnings growth," said Ardour Index Committee Adviser Walter Nasdeo. Demand for solar energy is driven by sky-rocketing energy prices and a growing global consensus to reduce carbon emissions. "The industry is coming of age technologically at a time when many index companies are barely able to keep up with demand," he added.
Global power demand is expected to rise by as much as 50 percent over the next decade, even as countries around the world enact new regulations to reduce carbon emissions by more than 20 percent from current levels. This sets the stage for clean alternatives such as solar energy, which currently accounts for less than 1 percent of total global power output.
The index has been licensed to financial services firms, who plan to offer listed investment and risk management products on the index.