Why Sunnova Energy shares gained big this week

The solar industry has struggled over the years, but you wouldn’t know it from the industry veteran’s performance Sunnova Energy Internationalhis (NEW 3.74%) recent stock. For the week to date on Friday before the market opened, according to data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence, the company’s shares are up nearly 15% in price. A positive and encouraging review of the wider solar industry was a big reason why.

We need more juice in this country

On Monday, the US government’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its latest monthly analysis of electricity production in the country. The EIA wrote that power plant developers brought 20.2 gigawatts of capacity online in the first six months of this year, a figure that was 21 percent higher than in the same period in 2023.

The EIA expects this trend to snowball as it estimates another 42.6 gigawatts will be added in the second half of 2024.

Fortunately for the bulls in the solar industry, this green energy source has played a big role in that and will likely continue to do so. The EIA tracked 12 gigawatts of utility-scale solar power coming online between January and June, making it the largest component of the total. The administration’s research is based on another 25 gigawatts of solar power built up in the last six months of the year.

This operator should be able to benefit

Not all solar companies are poised to take full advantage of this anticipated growth, but Sunnova certainly looks like it has a good shot. In early August, the Texas-based company released its second-quarter results, which showed that revenue was up 32% year over year and the net loss narrowed significantly. Perhaps it will flip into the black on the bottom line if solar volume in this country increases as much as expected.