The 25 Best Buys in Clean Energy

With President Biden soon heading to the U.N. climate summit, we decided to check in with several leading growth stocks advisors and contributors to MoneyShow.com for their favorite ideas in renewable energy. Their current recommendations include a variety of renewable markets including nuclear, hydrogen, solar and wind. John Persinos, Investing Daily's Personal Finance Due to concerns about global warming, many prominent environmentalists who once protested nuclear plants now speak in favor of nuclear energy as a green source of electricity. Nuclear power has gotten considerably safer over the years and it doesn't emit the gasses that contribute to global warming. The international climate change accords in Paris, which the Biden administration this year rejoined, endorsed nuclear as a way to reduce carbon emissions. President Biden's $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill proposes to revive the nuclear power industry, which provides about 19% of the nation's electricity. The demand for uranium should remain strong in coming years. The one company that's best positioned to profit is the little-known Canadian firm Cameco Corp. , the largest and lowest-cost uranium producer in the world. The U.S. and most other countries import the vast majority of the uranium they use as fuel. With emerging markets stepping up plans to build nuclear power plants, a bull market in uranium is unfolding that will extend over many years. Cameco owns the production and exploration rights to about 1.9 million acres of land, mostly in Northern Saskatchewan. Canada is the world's second-largest uranium-producing nation, behind Kazakhstan. The company sits on about 460 million pounds in proven and probable reserves of uranium and an additional 600 million pounds in measured and indicated and inferred resources. Cameco produced about five million pounds of uranium in 2020. The company also is a leading provider of nuclear fuel processing services, supplying much of the world's reactor fleet. With a market cap of $9 billion, Cameco is in fact the world's largest publicly traded uranium company. China continues to make a big bet on nuclear, in large part to wean itself away from coal and mitigate a horrendous air pollution problem that's becoming a safety as well as political crisis. The country has 26 nuclear power reactors in operation and 25 under construction, with nearly 100 on the drawing boards for 2030. Cameco will benefit from soaring Chinese demand for uranium. India's aggressive pursuit of nuclear power also will boost demand for the company's uranium. The company employs a conservative marketing strategy, selling around 40% of its production under long-term contracts at fixed prices that provide a cushion when uranium prices are low. Cameco is a play on unstoppable energy mega-trends. The average analyst expectation is for Cameco to generate year-over-year earnings growth of 83.3% in the current quarter, 111.10% in the next quarter, 50% in the current year, and 144.4% next year. Indeed, prices for a wide range of commodities are surging and should continue their upward trajectory, as global growth and the push for green energy accelerate. Roger Conrad, Conrad's Utility Investor According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's baseline forecast, Americans will use 40% more electricity by 2050 than in 2010. And more than half of that will come from new wind and solar, driven by the combination of favorable government policies, continued declines in the cost curve and development of energy storage. Contracted renewable energy companies have sagged since early 2021, first following the collapse of the so-called Biden trade and later in the wake of a knee-jerk investor reaction to the threat of rising interest rates. But the likes of portfolio holdings Atlantica Sustainable , Brookfield Renewable Partners and its C-Corp alternative Brookfield Renewable Corp. , Clearway Energy and NextEra Energy Partners have stuck to plan, consistently growing output and dividends. And now they're showing signs of waking up from their long slumber. The best in class is still NextEra Energy Partners, which remains on track to grow its dividend 15% this year. The company's greatest strength is its inside connection to parent NextEra Energy's rapidly growing contracted wind and solar portfolio, which tallied 19.4 gigawatts of capacity at the end of 2020 with another 30 GW in development to enter service by the end of 2024. NextEra has consistently demonstrated financial support to its affiliate over the years and is now reaping the rewards of controlling what's in effect a self-sustaining alternative funding vehicle for its own growth. NextEra Energy Partners and NextEra Energy are both buys at a price below $80. My top global renewable energy play is still Enel SpA (Italy: ENEL) (OTC: ENLAY), which at the end of Q2 had 85.5 GW of renewable energy capacity. Management in late September announced the company is on track to reach global capacity of 145 GW by 2030, while phasing out coal use by 2027. It also intends to boost electric vehicle charging points from around 200,000 currently to more than 4 million, and electric bus charging station to 10,000 over the same time frame. That represents a massive investment some apparently doubt, judging from the stock's recently discounted valuation of 12.8 times expected next 12 months earnings. Now yielding 5% plus with another increase on tap, Enel's ADRs traded at ENLAY are a buy up to $12. Jason Williams, Wealth Daily With all those options out there regarding electric vehicles, how's an investor supposed to pick which ones to put money behind? Who's going to be the winner of this race? Instead of trying to pick the winner of the vehicle battles, I'd prefer to buy the companies that stand to benefit no matter who wins. Here are my three favorite clean transportation investments. These are the companies I see with the biggest potential for profits as the industry continues to develop, no matter who wins the vehicle race. Plug Power Inc. is an American company that develops hydrogen fuel cell systems that replace conventional batteries in equipment and vehicles powered by electricity. Some of the very first vehicles the company helped to modify are things like forklifts and loaders at warehouses. Those have been electric for some time to cut down on exhaust buildup in the buildings. But now, thanks to Plug's hydrogen fuel cells, they're even more efficient and run for far longer. But it doesn't end at the warehouse. Far from it. Plug has over two decades of experience in the industry and has customers such as Walmart, Amazon, and Home Depot. And Plug recently partnered with Airbus to study how its green hydrogen technology can help decarbonize air travel and airport operations. Plug's not making the vehicles; it's just helping provide a better fuel source. And that's why I can see it sticking around and making investors wealthy in the process. Blink Charging Co. owns, operates, and provides electric vehicle charging equipment and networked EV charging services in the United States. It's got commercial and residential charging options that let drivers recharge at various location types. The company has deployed nearly 17,000 stations nationwide and is inking new agreements to install more just about monthly. Blink's residential chargers are Level 2 and are designed for overnight charging at single-family residences. Most recently, it sold 64 residential charging stations to Rudy's Performance Parts for resale to end consumers. In addition, Rudy's has also installed a commercial Blink charging station at its warehouse facility in North Carolina. Blink doesn't have the biggest charging network in the country, but it's racing to catch up. And I'm convinced it will reward early investors as it scoops up market share and expands its revenue streams. Envirotech Vehicles is the most speculative of these stocks. And that's because it's still so incredibly small. But that's also why it could have the most potential for profits. Envirotech is a little different in that it's making not only picks and shovels, but vehicles as well. But they're not the kind you're used to seeing in your neighbor's driveway. You see, Envirotech designs and sells purpose-built electric vehicles. And it serves commercial and last-mile fleets, school districts, public and private transportation service companies, and colleges and universities. It makes heavy vehicles like buses and big trucks for schools and deliveries. It's got partnerships with several bus fleet companies and delivery truck rental companies. The State of New Jersey has elected to fill its Zero-Emission Incentive Program with Envirotech vehicles. So far, the state has approved the purchase of 13 vehicles valued at about $100,000 each. And the company recently announced plans to purchase battery manufacturer ProGreens New Energy Technology Co. ProGreens already offers several battery packs and systems capable of powering a broad range of vehicles from electric buses and cars to motorcycles and scooters, as well as an energy storage system that allows for the conversion and storage of unused electrical energy. The acquisition puts Envirotech in the unique position of being a manufacturer of EVs and a supplier to the EV industry as well. That and its growing sales are likely to reward early investors with the risk appetite to back this upstart. Sean Brodrick, WealthWave The Biden administration recently announced a plan to build seven mega wind farms in the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf of Maine, as well as off the coasts of the Carolinas, California, Oregon and the Mid-Atlantic states. It's all part of an effort to provide clean energy to over 10 million households by 2030. Indeed, the U.S. offshore wind sector could finally be taking off. Electric power generation from wind has already grown by over 98% since 2000, from 6 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) to upward of 338 kWh. And that's just in the United States. With further advancements in technology, global wind power should continue to expand by leaps and bounds. Participating companies could experience mega-profits. The following sectors can give you exposure to wind energy: Turbine Companies Turbine companies manufacture, install and service wind turbines. And with turbines accounting for up to 30% of a wind farm's expenses, turbine manufacturers are some of the biggest beneficiaries. The following companies stand to get a nice portion of the estimated $40 billion-$50 billion to be spent on offshore wind turbines through 2035. General Electric Wind Energy, a subsidiary of General Electric , has installed over 49,000 turbines in more than 35 countries. And since the parent company has operations in aircraft engines, electrical motors, software, healthcare and weaponry, the share price is impacted by far more than just the performance of the wind energy subsidiary. Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (GCTAY) engineers, designs, builds and sells wind turbines. It also constructs wind farms. It has two segments: wind turbines and operations, and maintenance. The company has deployed over 107,000 megawatts in over 70 countries. Vestas Wind Systems (VWDRY) has been the top supplier of wind turbines worldwide for five years, supplying 85 countries with almost 80,000 turbines. The Denmark-based company has factories in several countries, including the U.S., China and Spain. TPI Composites manufactures composite wind blades as well as precision molding and assembly systems. The Arizona-based company, which has 13 plants covering over 500,000 square meters in five countries, produced over 70,000 wind blades since 2001. Wind Farm Companies Wind farm companies develop large offshore and onshore wind farms capable of producing large amounts of energy. Orsted (DNNGY), another Danish company, is the world's largest offshore wind developer (and the second largest company in Denmark). It owns two of the largest offshore wind farms in the world: London Array and the Walney Wind Farm, both of which are located in the United Kingdom. It's also built two pilot offshore wind projects in the U.S. off the coasts of Virginia and Rhode Island. Avangrid , Eversource Energy , Equinor ASA , Dominion Energy and Royal Dutch Shell are some other players to keep on your radar. Wind Energy Companies Wind energy companies distribute the energy produced by wind farms. NextEra Energy is at the forefront. This Florida-based utility, which uses a combination of wind, solar, natural gas and nuclear to generate electricity, has risen to become the world's largest utility company in terms of market cap. And it's almost tripled its wind energy capacity over the past decade. Supply Chain Companies The U.S. offshore wind industry will need to create a supply chain to include specialized ships for transporting and installing wind farm components. That means miles of high-voltage cables and offshore substations will be required to handle the power generated by these farms. Capital spending in the U.S. offshore supply chain alone could easily reach $200 billion by 2035. Investors should watch oil and gas equipment company NOV , offshore vessel companies Seacor Marine Holdings and Tidewater and marine vessel manufacturer Gulf Island Fabrication . An Exchange-Traded Fund Play A simpler approach to get broad market exposure is to buy shares of the First Trust Global Wind Energy ETF , which tracks the ISE Clean Edge Global Wind Energy IndexTM. To be included in the index, a company must be actively engaged in some aspect of the wind energy industry. You can see that FAN roared higher off the pandemic lows last year, but it's spent this year consolidating in a tight range. I believe a breakout is coming - a breakout that could send FAN much higher. The expense ratio for FAN is a reasonable 0.61%. A bonus is a dividend yield of 1.05% while you wait for potentially hefty capital gains. So catch these trade winds while they're a blowin'!

The 25 Best Buys in Clean Energy

These renewable energy favorites include nuclear, hydrogen, wind, and solar stocks, among others.

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