In this piece, we will take a look at the 12 best clean energy stocks to buy according to billionaires. If you want to skip our overview of the clean energy industry and some recent news, then you can skip and read 5 Best Clean Energy Stocks To Buy According to Billionaires.
Alongside biotechnology and artificial intelligence, the clean energy sector is one of the strongest growing segments in the world. Momentum to push the world towards emissions free energy use has grown over the decades, and as of 2023, the developed world has laid out serious plans to make the shift to renewable. This shift comes even as the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine slowed down investments in renewable energy as the world’s energy supply chain recalibrated itself away from Russian oil.
Overall, the renewable energy industry remains on track to be one of the biggest in the world. As an example, consider the fact that the crude oil industry was worth $1.4 trillion in 2021 and is slated to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.8% to be worth $1.6 trillion by 2029. Now, consider market research estimates for the global renewable energy industry. These show that the sector was worth $881 billion in 2020 and is slated to grow at a CAGR of 8.4% to be worth nearly $2 trillion by 2030.
December 2023 has been an important month for the renewable and clean energy industry overall. This is because the month kicked off with the COP28 conference taking place in Dubai. COP, short for Conference of the Parties, is an annual gathering that has been taking place since 1995. Its objectives are to lay down frameworks for the developed world to reduce carbon emissions, and throughout its history, it has led to attending members agreeing on frameworks such as the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement. However, 2023’s COP28 climate conference has been one of the most controversial ones in the event’s history. This is because critics are adamant that hosting a climate change and resilience event in a country that produces large amounts of oil and selecting an individual who is the CEO of an oil company as the COP28’s president is ironic and shows a clear conflict of interest. Yet, in the U.A.E.’s defense, the country was the firm in the region to sign the Paris Agreement and also the first Middle Eastern nation to commit to net zero emissions by 2050.
Even before the event started, one of the world’s biggest consulting companies, McKinsey, generated a lot of controversy when a report claimed that it aimed to use COP28 as a stepping pad to promote the interests of its clients. The list of clients includes the biggest oil companies in the world such as Saudi Aramco and Exxon Mobile Corporation (NYSE:XOM). This report, which has now been taken down but is available elsewhere highlighted that a draft purportedly belonging to McKinsey suggested reducing oil use only by half until 2050 and creating space to funnel trillions of dollars into conventional energy by 2050.
Another big development that took place at COP28 concerns clean energy and the world’s leading billionaire, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s former CEO Mr. Bill Gates. While Mr. Gates is known for setting up the world’s biggest software company, another firm that he created while also serving Microsoft is a nuclear energy company. This firm is TerraPower and Gates set it up in 2008 through an investment from his family office Cascade Investments. TerraPower is a next generation nuclear reactor firm, and it seeks to simplify the uranium supply chain for nuclear power use. On the sidelines of the COP28, while reports had warned about oil deals, a clean energy deal also took place that saw the U.A.E.’s state owned nuclear company ENEC sign an MOU with TerraPower to explore advanced reactors and their use both at home and abroad.
As clean energy exits 2023 on a high note, we thought to take a look at some clean energy stocks that are also seeing interest from billionaires. Some notable names are Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ:RUN), Enphase Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENPH), and First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR).
Solar panel workers installing a new farm for clean energy generation.
Our Methodology
To make our list of the top clean energy stocks that billionaires are buying, we took a look at the Q3 2023 hedge fund holdings of billionaire-owned or billionaire-led hedge funds and picked out the top 30 stocks in the iShares Global Clean Energy ETF that had the highest number of billionaire investors.
12 Best Clean Energy Stocks To Buy According to Billionaires
12. Bloom Energy Corporation (NYSE:BE)
Number of Billionaire Investors In Q3 2023: 6
Bloom Energy Corporation (NYSE:BE) is an industrial products company whose equipment enables users to convert gas into electricity without relying on combustion. The firm’s third quarter earnings created quite a splash as its shares rose by nearly 17% after it posted an EPS of 15 cents that smashed analyst estimates of a 4 cent loss out of the park.
By the end of September 2023, 29 out of the 910 hedge funds part of Insider Monkey’s database had held a stake in Bloom Energy Corporation (NYSE:BE). Philippe Laffont’s Coatue Management was the firm’s largest shareholder as it owned $45.8 million worth of shares.
Bloom Energy Corporation (NYSE:BE) just like Enphase Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENPH), Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ:RUN), and First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR), is a top clean energy stock that billionaires are buying.
11. Nextracker Inc. (NASDAQ:NXT)
Number of Billionaire Investors In Q3 2023: 7
Nextracker Inc. (NASDAQ:NXT) is a backend solar power company that sells trackers to let solar panels align with the Sun. Since the share started trading in February, the firm has beaten analyst EPS estimates in all of its quarters and secured an average Buy rating from analysts.
As of Q3 2023 end, 26 out of the 910 hedge funds profiled by Insider Monkey were Nextracker Inc. (NASDAQ:NXT)’s investors.
10. Clearway Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CWEN)
Number of Billionaire Investors In Q3 2023: 7
Clearway Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CWEN) is an American pure play renewable energy utility. It generates roughly eight thousand megawatts of electricity from natural gas, solar, and wind power. The firm scored a win in November 2023 when it was revealed that it would join the illustrious S&P SmallCap 600 stock index.
Insider Monkey took a look at 910 hedge fund holdings for 2023’s third quarter and found 23 Clearway Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CWEN) shareholders. The firm’s biggest investor out of these is Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group due to its $30.5 million stake.
9. Array Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARRY)
Number of Billionaire Investors In Q3 2023: 7
Array Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARRY) is a solar tracker firm headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Keeping an eye on the expected growth in the clean energy industry, the firm announced in November 2023 that it is building a new $50 million solar tracker manufacturing facility in New Mexico.
By the end of this year’s third quarter, 40 out of the 910 hedge funds polled by Insider Monkey had invested in the company. Array Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARRY)’s largest hedge fund shareholder is Jos Shaver’s Electron Capital Partners as it owns 6.1 million shares that are worth $135 million.
8. Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE)
Number of Billionaire Investors In Q3 2023: 8
Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) is a diversified ethanol company that produces, stores, distributes, and sells the clean fuel. Despite the fact that the firm has missed analyst EPS estimates in three out of its four quarters, the shares are rated Strong Buy on average with an average share price target of $40.44.
After digging through 910 hedge funds for their shareholdings during 2023’s September quarter, Insider Monkey found that 24 were Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE)’s investors. Frederick Disanto’s Ancora Advisors was the biggest stakeholder as it owned $121 million worth of shares.
7. Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG)
Number of Billionaire Investors In Q3 2023: 8
Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG) makes and sells hydrogen fuel cells for electric vehicles, power generation, and other applications. Its shares were in trouble in December 2023 when investment bank Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to Underweight from Equalweight and reduced the price target to $3 from $3.5 as it cited a massive share price drop this year and difficulties in commercializing hydrogen technologies as key worries for Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG)’s shares.
Yet, as September 2023 ended, 26 hedge funds out of the 910 surveyed by Insider Monkey had still bought the firm’s stock. Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG)’s largest hedge fund investor is Israel Englander’s Millennium Management as it owns $25.7 million worth of shares.
6. Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA)
Number of Billionaire Investors In Q3 2023: 8
Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA) is a diversified renewable clean energy company that not only generates power from geothermal and other clean energy sources but also sells power generation products to others. The firm has beaten analyst EPS estimates in all four of its latest quarters and the shares are rated Buy on average.
During Q3 2023, out of the 910 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, 16 had invested in Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA). Ian Simm’s Impax Asset Management was the largest shareholder among these due to its $159 million stake.
Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ:RUN), Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA), Enphase Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENPH), and First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) are some top billionaire clean energy stock picks.
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Disclosure: None. 12 Best Clean Energy Stocks To Buy According to Billionaires is originally published on Insider Monkey.