7 Best Renewable Energy Stocks to Buy
The renewable energy sector has had it tough the past few years.
Over the past half-decade, the Nasdaq Clean Edge Green Energy Index is down by 4%, while the S&P Global Clean Energy Transition Index is down by more than 7%. Over the same period, the broader market as measured by the S&P 500 is up more than 78%.
And the negative five-year returns for the renewable energy industry don’t even tell the whole story, as that includes a marked recovery from a nadir in 2025 after President Donald Trump took office for the second time.
After his inauguration, Trump began actively supporting the fossil fuel industry by declaring a national energy emergency aimed at expediting domestic oil, natural gas and coal production, issuing a moratorium on offshore wind development, and casting a shadow of uncertainty on clean energy tax credits under former President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.
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At the same time, the industry faced financial headwinds from interest rates that had climbed significantly from 2022 to 2023, an important development for capital-intensive renewable energy projects like solar and wind farms. Supply chain issues were another headache.
You can be forgiven if you don’t think renewables sound like a good investment.
But there have also been other developments going on behind the political headlines. These, coupled with easing interest rates, are breathing new life into the renewable energy sector.
For one thing, renewables keep getting cheaper. According to a report last year from the International Renewable Energy Agency, in 2024 more than 90% of newly commissioned utility-scale renewable energy generation projects delivered power more cheaply than the lowest-cost new fossil fuel-fired alternative.
And even in the U.S., renewables keep making inroads. Of the 86 gigawatts (GW) of new utility-scale electric generating capacity developers plan to add to the U.S. power grid this year, 51% will be solar, 28% will be battery storage and 14% will be wind, according to the Energy Information Administration.
“The economics have simply taken over,” says Peter Krull, director of sustainable investing at Earth Equity Advisors. “The power sector keeps choosing clean energy not because of politics or tax credits, but because solar, wind and batteries are the cheapest and fastest way to add capacity. Gas plants face multiyear turbine backlogs. Solar-plus-storage doesn’t.”
Kristin Hull, founder and chief investment officer at Nia Impact Capital, is seeing the same trend as utility-scale batteries are becoming cost-competitive and addressing the intermittency problem with solar and wind power.
“The uncertainty and headlines coming from the current administration have driven value compression across the renewable sector, even as the underlying business fundamentals continue to improve,” Hull says. “For long-term investors like us at Nia, that compression is an interesting time to consider buying.”
For Krull, interesting companies in the renewables industry have order books tied to utility and AI data center customers instead of just residential demand. They are also globally diversified, which means they’re not tied to the political whims of a single nation, he says.
“The big picture is that this sector went through a brutal two-year stretch, and the companies that came out the other side are leaner, with better balance sheets and a sharper focus on what utilities are actually buying,” Krull says. “Sentiment was washed out, but the fundamentals weren’t broken.”
With that in mind, here’s a look at seven top renewable energy stocks:
| Stock | Industry focus |
| Brookfield Renewable Corp. (ticker: BEPC) | Diversified hydro, wind and solar projects |
| NextEra Energy Inc. (NEE) | Electric utility, green hydrogen, battery storage |
| First Solar Inc. (FSLR) | Solar cells with low environmental footprint |
| Sunrun Inc. (RUN) | Affordable distributed solar energy |
| Fluence Energy Inc. (FLNC) | Energy storage products and services |
| Nexans SA (OTC: NEXNY) | Cables and related products for power generation |
| HA Sustainable Infrastructure Capital Inc. (HASI) | Climate solution investments |
Brookfield Renewable Corp. (BEPC)
This renewables powerhouse is the top pick for Arif Gasilov, founder of sustainability and ESG consulting company Gasilov Group. He points out that most of its cash flows are contracted for an average of more than a decade, and the company has a strong history of increasing its dividend.
Brookfield owns and operates a wide variety of renewable energy projects, including hydro, wind and solar.
The firm’s assets are spread across five continents, giving it jurisdictional diversification that can add stability to a natural resources company. For example, while the U.S. is tilting toward more oil and gas, Europe is more focused on renewable energy.
“The reason I like Brookfield over pure-play U.S. names is geographic diversification across multiple countries,” Gasilov says.
NextEra Energy Inc. (NEE)
Investors interested in the renewable energy sector can choose between well-established companies that have shown that they can navigate the challenging sector or seek out younger companies that present greater upside at a greater risk.
NextEra, which often makes lists of top renewable energy companies, is one of the former. The company has a regulated utility segment that generates, transmits, distributes and sells electricity in Florida. Another segment produces electricity from renewable sources, including wind and solar. The company is also involved with green hydrogen, battery storage and nuclear plants.
As a utility, NextEra can fit into portfolios as a defensive play. While it likely won’t outperform growth stocks during times of risk-on market sentiment, it also may not decline as much when the market turns sour because people need electricity in any economic environment.
On May 18, NextEra announced it would acquire Dominion Energy Inc. (D) in a $66.8 billion deal. The acquisition gives NextEra access to Northern Virginia’s “Data Center Alley,” the world’s largest data center concentration. Gasilov notes that the company also has a large development backlog.
“The caveat, on the other hand, is that they’re walking into significant political and regulatory pushback,” he says, pointing to a Virginia law to shift data center costs off residential bills. The deal also needs approval from regulators.
“Still potentially worth owning for the long term, but investors should expect volatility from the approval process,” he says.
First Solar Inc. (FSLR)
This company has benefited as solar installations in the U.S. have become more popular.
Founded in 1999, the company has stood the test of time and boasts five factories in Ohio, Alabama and Louisiana and expects to have a global annual manufacturing capacity of approximately 25 GW this year, with facilities also in India, Malaysia and Vietnam.
First Solar uses cadmium telluride technology for its solar cells in a process that has a smaller carbon footprint than other manufacturers that use polysilicon. Additionally, First Solar isn’t reliant on Xinjiang, a polysilicon-producing region in China where the U.S. says Muslim minorities are forced to work against their will.
Sunrun Inc. (RUN)
Among the many developments that will aid the energy transition away from fossil fuels, “distributed solar” is one of the most promising.
This refers to putting solar panels near the point of consumption, such as on house or business rooftops, as opposed to more centralized power generation, such as coal plants, that relies on a more extensive grid to get electricity where it needs to go.
Sunrun is attractive because of its focus on making solar affordable to the masses and its ability to offer flexibility in financing to lower the barrier to entry.
Fluence Energy Inc. (FLNC)
Battery storage is a key part of the decarbonized economy. Because solar and wind generation are intermittent based on when the sun is shining and the wind is blowing, energy storage systems offer a way to help stabilize electric grids.
Fluence, an energy storage products and services company, has a global presence and is a joint venture between German multinational technology conglomerate Siemens AG (OTC: SIEGY) and American utility AES Corp. (AES).
Those companies provide a good amount of stability in an industry where there are plenty of startups that might have great ideas but could struggle to get funding.
Nexans SA (OTC: NEXNY)
One thing the energy transition will need in great quantities besides batteries will be wiring that connects distributed solar, wind and other renewable energy sources to the grid and to homes and businesses.
Wiring connections are also needed within renewable energy installations — especially offshore wind farms that will power coastal metropolitan areas and take miles of cable to connect individual wind turbines with substations at sea.
As a cable products company, Nexans provides infrastructure to connect offshore wind farms with the grids that transfer the electricity to homes and businesses on land. It is also involved in the onshore wind and solar industries and develops cabling solutions for electric vehicle charging stations, which will be in increasing demand as more people adopt electric transportation.
HA Sustainable Infrastructure Capital Inc. (HASI)
This U.S. company provides capital to companies involved in energy efficiency, renewable energy and other sustainable infrastructure markets.
HASI’s portfolio includes behind-the-meter energy efficiency; distributed solar and storage investments; grid-connected wind, solar and storage projects; fleet decarbonization; and ecological restoration.
The company says it is the first U.S. public company solely focused on climate solution investments.
As of the end of March, the company formed the top holding in Nia Impact Capital’s Growth and Dividend separately managed account portfolio, which invests in companies that are “addressing the needs of a warmer, more populous and resource-constrained planet.”
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7 Best Renewable Energy Stocks to Buy originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 05/20/26: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.