Shares of First Solar Inc. FSLR climbed 1.8% in afternoon trading Thursday, and has run up 70.7% in 2022. The solar power systems maker, which has been an S&P 500 member for less than two weeks, is the only non-energy company in the index’s top-10 best year-to-date performers. First Solar’s stock was down 11.9% year to date as late as July 27, but then started its climb to a 13-year closing high of $172.30 on Nov. 30, after Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., agreed to support an economic bill that included spending on clean energy. Meanwhile, the rest of the S&P 500’s SPX top-10 YTD gainers were companies in the fossil fuel business, led by shares of Occidental Petroleum Corp. OXY, up 115.9%, and Hess Corp. HES, up 91.3%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 has dropped 19.2% this year.
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