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Since the New Bull began its charge on March 9, clean energy stocks have put together a mighty rally of their own, as they outpaced the US equities market as a whole. Savvy market observers believe that it reflects the benefits of being on the right side of political trends, thanks to initiatives from China, the United States and other countries. Three major indexes tracking green energy companies have risen sharply of late. The US -only Wilderhill Clean Energy Index, comprising 51 companies, is up 72% since the March 9 low. Its global counterpart, the Wilderhill New Energy Global Index, which tracks 88 companies in 21 countries, is up 66% in the same period. The CleanTech Index, which tracks a broader group, including industries like sustainable agriculture, is up 57%. By comparison, the S&P 500 is up 35% since hitting a 12-year low on March 9. The Green stocks are recovery mode have being hammered on demand concerns brought on by the drop in the price of Crude Oil and the credit freeze, the Wilderhill indexes plunged 70%, and the Cleantech Index 50 %, in 2008. The indexes are still off 2007 peaks.

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Global wind capacity grew by 29 % in 2008 with the United States surpassing Germany to become the world’s leading wind power generator, Worldwatch Institute said. The Washington-based research organization said last Thursday that global wind capacity rose by over 27,000 megawatts (MW), or enough to power around 27MM homes, to some 120,798 MW last year. Wind now provides 1.5 % of the world’s energy demand, up from 0.1 percent in 1997. US wind capacity increased by 50 % or 5,170 MW, or 21% of world capacity. In Europe, wind represented the leading source of new power capacity, with 8,877 MW installed in 2008. This was 28% more than new natural gas capacity and over 10 times more than new coal, Worldwatch said. Europe now generates 65,946 MW of wind power, or 55% of global capacity, Germany still leads the region, generating 23,903 MW of wind power, but it saw new installations drop slightly in 2008.

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With the world suffering through a major credit crunch, China has suddenly gone shopping. Beijing said last week that one of its big state-owned banks, China Development Bank, agreed to lend Petrobras, the Brazilian oil giant, US$10B in exchange for a long-term supply of Crude Oil. That investment came after similar deals were signed this week with Russia and Venezuela, bringing China’s total Crude Oil investments this month to US$41B.

This month, Aluminum Corp. of China, the largest Chinese aluminum producer, agreed to invest $19.5 billion in Rio Tinto of Australia, one of the world’s biggest mining companies. And on Monday, China Min metals bid US$1.7B to acquire Oz Minerals, a huge Australian zinc mining company. The new China is flush with cash and eager to take advantage of weak commodity prices, China is once again on the hunt for global energy and resources to power its growing economy. But this time, Chinese companies are being welcomed overseas. Analysts say that China will continue to make deals this year, for a variety of small oil and natural gas companies, mineral producers and mining companies.

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China’s government announced plans today for an estimated $585 billion in spending and stimulus measures to shore up its weakening economy and counter the effects of the global financial crisis. The massive stimulus plan would include tax cuts, a loosening of credit and government spending on a wide range of projects, including construction of low-income housing, transportation systems and the development of rural infrastructure,

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