Why Plug, Bloom, and Ballard Stocks Crashed Today

It looks as if Friday will be a rough day for renewable energy stocks in general and hydrogen fuel cell stocks in particular.

In 11:40 a.m. ET trading, shares of Plug Power (NASDAQ: PLUG) were down 12%, followed by lesser declines of 6.9% for Bloom Energy (NYSE: BE) and 5.9% for Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ: BLDP). West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin appears to be to blame for the declines, as The Washington Post reports today that the Senator has rejected overtures from the White House and from his Senate and House colleagues to support a budget proposal including tax credits to encourage green energy adoption, as well as other credits to subsidize the purchase of electric cars.

Details on what specific credits and subsidies the White House proposed are missing from the reports -- but they're also probably moot because, without Manchin's support, the administration is unlikely to garner the 50 Senate votes it would need to pass any bill subsidizing green energy. Investors are understandably disappointed by the news -- but here's the thing:

Source Fool.com