New NASDAQ Index for Tracking Clean-Energy Companies

There's blood in the water. Responding to oil price spikes, governmental legislation and incentives, and recalculated ROI for new technologies, venture capitalists are taking a fresh look at market opportunities that weren't there a year ago. Add to that the drumbeat of news broadcasting of energy-related stories every day - and what stories aren't, somehow, energy-related - investors are throwing themselves into a feeding frenzy hunting down the next big high-return, low-risk kill.

Enter Clean Edge, The Clean-Tech Market Authority. This research and publishing firm has been helping companies, investors, and governments understand and profit from emerging clean-energy markets since 2001. In partnership with NASDAQ, they have established an Clean Energy Index and online tool for tracking breaking information on a broad array of clean technology companies.

Here are some excerpts from a story describing the new index by Andy Kollmorgen of Renewable Energy Access.

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Clean Edge Teams Up with NASDAQ for New Clean Energy Index

Peterborough, New Hampshire [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] The recently established partnership between NASDAQ and Clean Edge, a San Francisco and Portland, Oregon-based clean energy research and publishing firm, signals the mainstreaming and maturation of renewable energy, said Clean Edge co-founder Ron Pernick in an interview with RenewableEnergyAccess.com last week. The NASDAQ Clean Edge U.S. Index will track the performance of publicly traded U.S. clean energy securities. The new index was made public on May 18, 2006.

After years on the fringes of the energy sector, wind turbines, solar panels, biofuels and related technologies are moving into the mainstream.

The NASDAQ Clean Edge Index tracks stock performance in five areas: renewable electricity generation, renewable fuels, energy storage and conversion, energy intelligence, and advanced energy-related materials. Listed companies must meet certain criteria.

"Working with NASDAQ, we've instituted a number of quantitative screens, including minimum market capitalization of $150 million and average daily trading volume of 100,000 shares," said Pernick. "That's one way of ensuring that we have established and emerging companies that meet key criteria."

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