The Future Looks Bright for Clean Energy (Though Individual Companies Remain Vulnerable).

The Googleplex rooftops and car parks blanketed in solar cells as seen from the Zeppelin NT (with Marissa Mayer pointing out her office window) on our Geek Tour of Silicon Valley. Photo by Steve Jurvetson from Menlo Park, USA. Wiki Commons. Used with permission.

The Future Looks Bright for Clean Energy (Though Individual Companies Remain Vulnerable).
We need more energy to power AI, quantum and data centers, for the developing world and as the population expands. New power generation projects are overwhelmingly clean energy.
 
Email [email protected] if you’d like an updated EV or Solar Stock Report Card.
 
The U.S. Department of Energy is run by an oil and gas CEO. Tax credits for homeowners and businesses to install solar and wind end Dec. 31, 2025, and EV tax credits expire Sept. 30, 2025. Yet, solar and battery storage are expected to lead new power generation in the U.S. this year, according to the Energy Information Administration. Solar (32.5 GW) represents 52%, followed by battery storage (18.2 GW) at 29%, wind (7.7 GW) with 12% and new natural gas (4.4 GW) at just 7%. A large part of the demand for clean energy is coming from the technology giants, many of whom aim for 100% renewable power in their operations.

Electricity use is being pushed up by AI, data center demand, economic development (Asia, the Middle East and Africa), EVs and the cooling demands of quantum and AI. Bloomberg NEF is predicting the demand for electric power to rise by 75% over the next 25 years, with Asia, the Middle East and Africa accounting for much of the increased demand.
 
Natalie Note: Homeowners! If you live in a sunny state, solar, before the tax credit expires, could be a great idea to offset rising electricity costs. There are more than a few tricks to learn before getting the quote, so be sure to read the chapter “How to Save Thousands on Your Electric Bill,” from The ABCs of Money 6th edition for essential tips.
 
The rapid expansion of solar, wind and EVs in the U.S. is expected to continue, despite political roadblocks. Fossil fuel-based power generation facilities are old, and many require costly upgrades and maintenance. ICE* vehicles are expensive to operate and fuel up, while EVs often resale at higher valuations. According to the Bloomberg NEF 2025 New Energy Report released on April 15, 2025:
 
Renewables and electric vehicles play an expanding role in the Economic Transition Scenario, as ever-lower costs and maturing technologies drive faster adoption. While points of resistance have emerged in recent years, namely higher interest rates, volatile costs and rising trade barriers, these technologies continue to show advantageous and improving economics, which ultimately drive their adoption to unprecedented levels.
 
*ICE: Internal Combustion Engine
 
We sometimes forget that investing is global. While the U.S. has rolled back a lot of its clean energy goals, other countries have been exceeding theirs. For instance, China is the top consumer of EVs, buying 11 million of the 17.1 million total EVs sold in 2024 (source: Rho Motion). (Learn more about the EV Price Wars in my EV Blog.) According to Climate Action Tracker, “China achieved its 1,200 GW wind and solar capacity target six years ahead of schedule, reaching 1,407 GW in 2024.”
 
Despite shattering renewable goals, China receives an overall rating of “highly inefficient,” because 60% of the grid in China is still powered by coal. In the U.S., 60% of the grid is also powered by fossil fuels – mostly natural gas. Renewable sources increased in the U.S. from 13% in 2014 to 21% in 2023, while coal dropped from 40% to 16% over the same period (source: EIA.gov).

Here are the things I’ll cover in this blog.
 
China
Investing in Individual Companies
Widgets
AI & Data Centers Consumption of Energy
Clean Energy ETFs
 
And here is more information on each point.
 
China
China invested $1.9 trillion (USD) in EVs, batteries and solar in 2024, representing 10% of the country’s GDP (source: Climate Action Tracker). As I’ve indicated in prior blogs, the country’s rapid shift to EVs from ICE vehicles is a big reason why oil demand is down, and prices are stuck around $65/barrel – which is below the price that most oil companies can profitably drill a new rig. (Click to read my Oil blog.)
 
At the same time, U.S. investors are not particularly interested in Chinese equities. Many of the Chinese ETFs that soared in 2021 are now trading at prices that are down -50%. Chinese EVs are some of the top sellers in the world (though they are not available in the U.S.). As an example, China’s BYD had $109 billion in sales in 2024. That’s more revenue than Tesla. However, Tesla is worth over $1 trillion and BYD is only worth $142 billion. Former EV darlings Nio and XPeng are trading at discounts of -2/3rds (XPEV) to -90% (Nio).
 
Be careful about investing in Chinese equities. Buyers on Wall Street are scarce for the country’s stock these days.
 
Investing in Individual Companies
Investing in individual companies is always risky and particularly in the clean energy field. Many of the clean energy companies are carrying high debt with net losses or low margins. Sunpower went through bankruptcy on August 5, 2024. TPI Composites entered Chapter 11 on August 11, 2025.
 
Most Main Street investors would be better off sticking to funds. I’ll talk about this more below and in my blog, “Get Safe & Hot in One Easy Plan.” If you are willing to take on the high risk of an individual company in the clean energy space, you must get familiar with all of the tools that hedge funds use, in order to have any hope of being on the right side of the trade. (I offer a Stock Masterclass each year.) It’s also a good idea to think of this as your Vegas Money.

Widgets
There is some impressive revenue growth in some of the companies that provide parts and gadgets, over the companies that manufacture solar panels or wind turbines. American Super Conductor saw revenue growth of 80% year over year in the most recent quarter. Array Technology, Enphase and Shoals Technology each had growth of 42%, 20%, and 12%, respectively. AMSC is trading near its 5-year high. However, Array, Enphase and Shoals are all trading sharply lower from their highs in 2021. Yet, even with that pullback, they still have high valuations.
 
Of all the companies on the Solar Wind Energy Stock Report Card, these four look the most promising. However, the price, debt and valuations would prompt me to put them on a stock shopping list, waiting for a more favorable price, rather than buying high. All three of these companies are part of the iShares Global Clean Energy ETF. Email [email protected] if you’d like an updated Solar Stock Report Card.
 
AI & Data Centers Consumption of Energy
Won’t utilities benefit from high demand?
 
The high energy demands of AI, data centers and quantum computing have all the mega technology companies scrambling for energy. However, many of them are also getting smart about it. They are making their chips, factories and even headquarters more energy efficient. Many, including Amazon, Apple, Google (Alphabet), Nvidia and Tesla power their facilities with their own solar and/or have ambitious plans to expand their renewable energy and cut out their reliance on fossil fuel power.
 
Utilities should benefit from the demand expectations down the road. However, many utilities are carrying very high debt and are constrained on how much they can charge. Constellation Energy will benefit from a deal with Microsoft to reopen 3-Mile Island. However, Constellation, like many utilities, is at the lowest rung of investment grade. Additionally, it could take a while to bring more capacity online to sell to these companies. Finally, there is the additional burden that many utility companies have been sued for natural disasters, particularly wildfires. This caused PG&E to declare bankruptcy in 2019.
 
I outline some of the risks of investing in utilities in my Utilities blog, which I encourage you to check out. The simple math would say invest in utilities for buoyancy, income and for the expansion, but there are a lot of other important factors to consider.
 
Clean Energy ETFs
Owning a fund helps to reduce the risk. If one company gets into trouble, the others should do well enough to keep the fund viable. The iShare’s global clean energy ETF, symbol ICLN, invests in countries around the world. So, we are getting exposure to various markets and companies that would be difficult to invest in on our own. At this point, the ETF is offering a 1.9% yield. It is trading at a 5-year low because investors have given up on clean energy with the pro-oil/anti-clean energy headlines and the elimination of tax credits. However, when we wait for the headlines to be on fire, we are going to buy high.
 
ICLN is currently trading under $15/share. In January 2021, it was above $33 a share. This is a reminder that we want to have a ‘capture gains’ rebalancing plan for our wealth. Doing that would have ensured that we sold high. Just like we spring clean our home at least once year, we should make sure that our financial home is sparkling, too. That way, we are keeping our money when an industry is in favor (such as clean energy in Jan. 2021) and buying more at a lower price when it isn’t, instead of just riding a Wall Street rollercoaster.
 
Bottom Line
The demand for energy is profound and increasing. It will likely cost us more on our electric bills. We will start seeing headlines and being inundated with investment opportunities. However, investing in this sector is complicated due to the overhang of debt, net losses and low margins that many of the utility, solar and wind companies are experiencing.
 
For most of us, we might think about a clean energy ETF, if we want to get exposure to the sector. Remember that buying a fund from a creditworthy company is important. There are a lot of smaller companies that come up with fancy names and marketing strategies to get us to invest in them. However, that could be perilous for investors due to the elevated risk of the fund company itself. (Direxion Funds is an example of the problem.) You can learn more about this in my private coaching or at our Financial Freedom Retreat. Email [email protected] to learn more.
 
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Natalie Wynne Pace is an Advocate for Sustainability, Financial Literacy & Women's Empowerment. Natalie is the bestselling author of The ABCs of Money (6th edition) and The Power of 8 Billion: It's Up to Us, and is the co-creator of the Earth Gratitude Project. She has been ranked as a No. 1 stock picker, above over 835 A-list pundits, by an independent tracking agency (TipsTraders). Her book The ABCs of Money remained at or near the #1 Investing Basics e-book on Amazon for over 3 years (in its vertical), with over 120,000 downloads and a mean 5-star ranking. The 6th edition of The ABCs of Money and the 2nd edition of Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is (2nd edition) are the most recent releases of these books. Follow her on Instagram. 
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Please note: Natalie Pace does not act or operate like a broker. She reports on financial news, and is one of the most trusted sources of financial literacy, education and forensic analysis in the world. Natalie Pace educates and informs individual investors to give investors a competitive edge in their personal decision-making. Any publicly-traded companies, funds or projects mentioned by Natalie Pace are not intended to be buy or sell recommendations.

ALWAYS do your research and consult an experienced, reputable financial professional before buying or selling any security, and consider your long-term goals and strategies. Investors should NOT be all in on any asset class or individual stocks. Your retirement plan should reflect an age-appropriate, diversified wealth plan, which has been designed strategically, with the assistance of financial professionals who are familiar with your goals, risk tolerance, tax needs and more. The "trading" portion of your portfolio should be a very small part of your investment strategy, and the amount of money you invest into individual companies should never be greater than your experience, wisdom, knowledge, patience and diversified strategy.  
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