What happened
Shares of solar manufacturer Canadian Solar Inc. (CSIQ -2.54%) jumped as much as 12.2% in trading Thursday after Donald Trump talked about a solar wall with Mexico at a campaign rally last night. At 2:40 p.m. EDT, shares were still up 10.1% on the day.
So what
A solar wall with Mexico, as Trump has talked about briefly, could lead to 1.4 GW of new solar generation, or enough to power 230,000 homes. And for the solar industry, it could be a boost in demand that's very welcome in a down year for the U.S.
Image source: Getty Images.
Canadian Solar could be a beneficiary as one of the biggest suppliers of solar panels in the U.S. And its manufacturing plant in Canada (not the U.S.) could supply some of the panels for the wall. But this is really just speculation at this point.
Now what
We have no idea if a wall is going to be built, or if there would be solar panels on it. But Trump talking about the industry sent shares higher today, and it could be seen as a positive just that Trump was talking positively about solar. But long term, I don't think these comments will fundamentally lead to an improvement in the solar industry, or Canadian Solar. The bounce, for now, is just too speculative to get excited about.
