How have renewable trusts fared in face of government headwinds?

Green energy trusts have outperformed expectations despite the government's removal of the climate change levy exemption, writes Pascal Dowling of Kepler Partners.

The 'green' energy sector was a rare success story for investors last year, despite plunging stockmarkets worldwide and changes to the subsidies supporting renewable energy announced by Chancellor George Osborne in the July 2015 Summer Budget. The government initially upset the green lobby after last May's General Election, when it announced plans to remove the climate change levy exemption from electricity produced from renewable sources. The move, dubbed 'perverse' by the opposition, was criticised by environmental giant Greenpeace, who called it a 'tax on clean energy', while lobby...