isramart: Stimulus Packages a Boon for Efficiency

Isramart report:

Energy efficiency and energy management companies and projects have benefited the most from the global effort to stimulate economies over the past eight months, according to the banking giant HSBC.

Of the $350 billion earmarked by governments for climate-related projects, 53 percent, or $184 billion, went to projects and to companies that improve the efficiency of buildings, transportation and industry, or to projects and companies developing and producing fuel cells and energy storage systems, according to Joaquim de Lima and Vijay Sumon, analysts at HSBC.

Before funds started flowing in October 2008, investments in the efficiency sector had been in decline, the authors wrote. Since then, “at a minimum, the global stimulus packages have acted as a support for the sector and at best the packages have already begun to have a material and positive impact on stock price performance.”

The authors said much more still could be done in the efficiency sector, noting that only China and the European Union have set country-level energy efficiency targets.

Even so, E.U. member countries like France, Germany and Italy still have high levels of what is known as “heating intensity” in buildings — a measure of energy use per heated area. This is likely due to the greater percentage of poorly insulated older buildings in these countries.

While energy efficiency was the big winner in drawing stimulus dollars, companies that provide low-carbon energy production like wind, solar and nuclear, still dominate the clean-tech sector, currently make up 60 percent of the HSBC Global Climate Change Index.

Companies focused on energy efficiency make up the second largest component with about 28 percent of the index, while companies focused on water, waste and pollution control make up the remaining 12 percent of the index.