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It was a tough week for clean energy stocks after Donald Trump clinched the presidential election, but for the short sellers betting against them, the gains have been impressive.
Traders betting against renewables have gains on paper of around $1.3 billion since Trump's win sent stocks in the sector tumbling, according to Bloomberg.
Among the most-shorted renewable names are shares of Plug Power, SolarEdge Technologies, and Enphase Energy, which have each seen declines of over 24% since market close on Tuesday. First Solar and Bloom Energy have also been popular targets for short-sellers, and have lost around 11% and 3% since Tuesday.
The renewables selloff comes after Trump won the US presidential election earlier this week.
Trump, who frequently used the slogan "drill, baby, drill" while on the campaign trail, is expected to roll back many of the Biden administration's clean energy initiatives. In particular, Trump has long been critical of the Inflation Reduction Act's billions of dollars toward solar and wind subsidies.
Trump could also slash subsidies for electric vehicles and manufacturing EV batteries in the US, which has led EV makers' stocks to tumble (excluding Tesla, which is headed by key Trump ally Elon Musk and is expected to benefit from the former president's return to the White House).
Trump is also expected to pull out of the Paris Agreement again, which would remove the US from worldwide climate diplomacy talks with Europe and China.
Trump has also promised to make it easier to develop energy infrastructure. In the spring, he asked top oil executives for a $1 billion contribution to his campaign in exchange for dismantling Biden's environmental policies, handing out more drilling leases, and expediting permits for new liquefied natural gas exports, according to a report from the Washington Post.
