Solar stocks sink as Manchin kills spending bill poised to boost renewable energy sector

• Solar stocks fell on news that Sen. Joe Manchin won't support the Biden administration's Build Back Better Act.
• SunRun, SunPower, First Solar, and SolarEdge all plummeted in Monday trading.
• The proposed bill would have included $550 billion dedicated to climate-related initiatives.

US solar stocks plummeted after Democratic Senator Joe Manchin rejected the Biden administration's Build Back Better Act — a $1.75 trillion plan that includes broad clean energy initiatives.

The country's largest residential solar installer, Sunrun, fell as much as 12% before recovering some of its losses. Competitor SunPower dropped nearly 10%, while First Solar and SolarEdge each slipped more than 8%.

The bill includes tax credits for various renewable energy resources, as well as tax credits for power plants that employ carbon-capture technologies, energy storage and other clean-energy projects. In total, the proposed bill would have included $550 billion dedicated to climate-related initiatives.

"If I can't go home and explain it to the people of West Virginia I can't vote for it," Manchin said in a "Fox News Sunday" interview. "I've tried everything humanly possible, I can't get there. This is a no."

Manchin's announcement startled policymakers, and White House press secretary Jen Psaki called it "a sudden and inexplicable reversal in position."

His decision effectively dooms the centerpiece of President Biden's economic agenda in its current iteration. All 50 Republican Senators also rejected the bill, meaning all 50 on the Democratic side had to back it.