Solar energy stocks continued their slide this week, as investors feared the worst for the renewable energy market. Not only are installations dropping, higher rates are squeezing margins, and not all companies will be able to weather the storm.

According to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, Maxeon Solar Technologies (NASDAQ: MAXN) fell 17.6% since Friday's close, SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR) is down 15.5%, and NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE: NEP) is down 13.3%.

Interest rates have been up and down over the past month, and at least in the first four days of trading this week, rates were on the rise, which is bad for renewable energy companies. When rates go up, it makes long-term assets like a solar or wind power plant less valuable, putting pressure on costs or forcing installers to charge higher prices for electricity. solar stocks in particular have gyrated based on rate changes all year, and this week, higher rates meant lower stock prices.

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Source Fool.com