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3 Alternative Energy Stocks Poised to Benefit From Wind and EV Growth
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Wind energy is rapidly expanding due to supportive policies, growing climate awareness, with technological advances like larger turbines improving efficiency and output. At the same time, the EV market is driving clean energy adoption, supported by government incentives and declining battery costs. However, rising installation costs, caused by higher material prices, tariffs, and the phaseout of tax credits, are posing significant challenges for renewable energy developers and may decelerate project progress. The forerunners in the U.S. alternative energy industry are Bloom Energy (BE - Free Report) , FuelCell Energy (FCEL - Free Report) and Montauk Renewables (MNTK - Free Report) .
About the Industry
The Zacks Alternative Energy - Other industry can be fundamentally segregated into two sets of companies. While one group is involved in the generation and distribution of alternative energy and electricity from sources like wind, natural gas, biofuel, hydro and geothermal, the other is engaged in the development, design and installation of renewable projects involving these alternative energy sources. The industry includes a handful of stocks that offer fuel cell energy solutions, which have gained popularity as affordable, clean energy options lately. According to a Wood Mackenzie report, energy sector investment is rising and is on track to exceed $3.8 trillion by 2030. Such investments provide strong growth opportunities for industry participants.
3 Trends Shaping the Future of the Alternative Energy Industry
Wind Power Gains Ground with Innovation and Global Demand: Wind power is expanding quickly, driven by strong policy support for renewable energy, rising public awareness of climate issues, and its increasing affordability. It has become one of the most economical sources of electricity, steadily outperforming traditional fuels as technology continues to improve. Innovations, particularly the development of larger and more efficient turbines, enable wind farms to generate higher output from the same sites. This leads to greater efficiency, lower cost per unit of electricity, and stronger financial returns for project developers. A Wood Mackenzie report highlighted that developers are expected to connect 160 GW of wind projects globally in 2026. This represents a 6% decline compared with its preliminary estimate for 2025. A year-over-year decline in China, due to the end of its 14th Five-Year Plan, is expected to be the single largest factor behind the slowdown. However, the rest of the world is poised for growth.
EV Market Surge to Accelerate Clean Energy Adoption: Electric vehicle (EV) companies and charging networks are increasingly using renewable energy sources like solar and wind to power vehicles, reducing fossil fuel usage and emissions. EV adoption is being supported by governments, especially the U.S. government, via subsidies, tax credits, grants and non-cash incentives. Another key driver is the steady decline in battery costs, which lowers the overall price of EVs and makes them more competitive with gasoline-powered cars. These factors have contributed to strong global sales growth. According to a Benchmark Mineral Intelligence report, nearly 1.75 million electric vehicles were sold globally in March 2026, bringing first-quarter 2026 EV sales to 4.0 million – down 3% on a year-over-year basis. In March 2026, EV sales grew 66% sequentially and 3% year over year. Per a report by Grand View Research, the global EV market size is projected to reach $6,523.97 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 32.5% from 2025 to 2030. This strong growth outlook benefits clean energy companies, particularly those that operate large EV charging networks in the United States, as rising EV adoption directly increases demand for charging infrastructure and its related services.
Increasing Costs Driven by Tariffs and OBBA: Escalating renewable installation costs have become a major hurdle for clean energy developers. In particular, higher steel prices, critical for manufacturing large wind turbine components, have recently pushed wind installation expenses even higher. The U.S. government’s elevated import tariffs, introduced in early 2025, have further increased cost burdens across the wind sector.
A Wood Mackenzie report has warned that tariff uncertainty, particularly import duties on materials and components, could disrupt cost forecasts for the U.S. wind industry. A key issue is the upcoming July 2026 deadline for the production tax credit, which is pushing developers to accelerate project timelines and secure equipment quickly before incentives lapse. Uncertainty surrounding import tariffs, particularly on turbine components, along with permitting delays, is creating additional challenges and slowing project execution. The OBBBA introduced significant changes to the tax credits available for eligible clean energy components and facilities, including the termination of the advanced manufacturing production tax credit for wind components sold after Dec. 31, 2027. In this context, the expiration of tax credits is expected to increase project costs far more than tariffs. Since these credits substantially reduce expenses, their expiration makes renewable energy development and production considerably more expensive.
Zacks Industry Rank Reflects Bright Outlook
The Zacks Alternative Energy industry is housed within the broader Zacks Oils-Energy sector. It carries a Zacks Industry Rank #72, which places it in the top 30% of more than 244 Zacks industries.
The group’s Zacks Industry Rank, which is basically the average of the Zacks Rank of all the member stocks, indicates bright near-term prospects. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.
Before we present a few alternative energy stocks that you may want to consider for your portfolio, let’s take a look at the industry’s recent stock-market performance and valuation.
Industry Beats S&P 500, Lags Sector
The Zacks Alternative Energy- Other Industry has outperformed the Zacks S&P 500 composite but underperformed its sector over the past year. The stocks in this industry have collectively surged 48.2% in the past year compared with the Zacks Oil-Energy sector’s 49.4% growth. The Zacks S&P 500 composite has gained 33.3% in the same time frame.
One-Year Price Performance
Industry's Current Valuation
On the basis of the trailing 12-month EV/EBITDA ratio, which is commonly used for valuing alternative energy stocks, the industry is currently trading at 23.16X compared with the S&P 500’s 17.76X and the sector’s 7.2X.
Over the past five years, the industry has traded as high as 23.19X, as low as 9.89X and at the median of 13.56X.
EV-EBITDA Ratio (TTM)
3 Alternative Energy Stocks to Buy
Bloom Energy: Based in San Jose, CA, the company generates and distributes renewable energy. On April 28, 2026, Bloom Energy announced its first-quarter results. It reported earnings of 44 cents per share compared with 3 cents in the year-ago quarter. The company’s top line also improved 130.4% year over year to $751.1 million. The company reported adjusted operating income of $129.7 million in the first quarter, reflecting an increase of $116.5 million year over year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Bloom Energy’s 2026 sales implies an improvement of 80.3% year over year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings suggests an improvement of 151.3% year over year. The company currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Price & Consensus: BE
Montauk Renewables: Based in Pittsburgh, PA, the company is a fully-integrated renewable energy company. MNTK specializes in the management, recovery and conversion of biogas into renewable energy. On May 6, 2026, Montauk Renewables announced its first-quarter results. It reported break-even earnings. The company produced nearly 1.4 million Metric Million British Thermal Units (MMBtu) of RNG in the quarter, flat year over year. RINs sold of 12.4 million reflect an increase of 2.5 million or 25.5% year over year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Montauk Renewables’ 2026 sales implies an improvement of 21.5% year over year. The consensus estimate for 2026 earnings suggests an improvement of 700% year over year. The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Price & Consensus: MNTK
FuelCell Energy: Based in Danbury, CT, the company makes ultra-clean, highly efficient power plants that can run on fuels like renewable biogas and natural gas, producing electricity with far less pollution and fewer greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fossil-fuel plants. In March 2026, the company announced its fiscal first-quarter results. It reported a loss of 52 cents per share, which improved 61% year over year. During the same month, the company introduced standardized packaged 12.5???MW power blocks to enable faster deployment in grid-constrained markets. It directly targets one of the fastest-growing infrastructure markets — AI-driven data centers.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s fiscal 2026 sales implies an improvement of 0.9% year over year. The estimate for fiscal 2026 earnings implies 50.6% growth year over year. The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.
Price & Consensus: FCEL
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3 Alternative Energy Stocks Poised to Benefit From Wind and EV Growth
Wind energy is rapidly expanding due to supportive policies, growing climate awareness, with technological advances like larger turbines improving efficiency and output. At the same time, the EV market is driving clean energy adoption, supported by government incentives and declining battery costs. However, rising installation costs, caused by higher material prices, tariffs, and the phaseout of tax credits, are posing significant challenges for renewable energy developers and may decelerate project progress. The forerunners in the U.S. alternative energy industry are Bloom Energy (BE - Free Report) , FuelCell Energy (FCEL - Free Report) and Montauk Renewables (MNTK - Free Report) .
About the Industry
The Zacks Alternative Energy - Other industry can be fundamentally segregated into two sets of companies. While one group is involved in the generation and distribution of alternative energy and electricity from sources like wind, natural gas, biofuel, hydro and geothermal, the other is engaged in the development, design and installation of renewable projects involving these alternative energy sources. The industry includes a handful of stocks that offer fuel cell energy solutions, which have gained popularity as affordable, clean energy options lately. According to a Wood Mackenzie report, energy sector investment is rising and is on track to exceed $3.8 trillion by 2030. Such investments provide strong growth opportunities for industry participants.
3 Trends Shaping the Future of the Alternative Energy Industry
Wind Power Gains Ground with Innovation and Global Demand: Wind power is expanding quickly, driven by strong policy support for renewable energy, rising public awareness of climate issues, and its increasing affordability. It has become one of the most economical sources of electricity, steadily outperforming traditional fuels as technology continues to improve. Innovations, particularly the development of larger and more efficient turbines, enable wind farms to generate higher output from the same sites. This leads to greater efficiency, lower cost per unit of electricity, and stronger financial returns for project developers. A Wood Mackenzie report highlighted that developers are expected to connect 160 GW of wind projects globally in 2026. This represents a 6% decline compared with its preliminary estimate for 2025. A year-over-year decline in China, due to the end of its 14th Five-Year Plan, is expected to be the single largest factor behind the slowdown. However, the rest of the world is poised for growth.
EV Market Surge to Accelerate Clean Energy Adoption: Electric vehicle (EV) companies and charging networks are increasingly using renewable energy sources like solar and wind to power vehicles, reducing fossil fuel usage and emissions. EV adoption is being supported by governments, especially the U.S. government, via subsidies, tax credits, grants and non-cash incentives. Another key driver is the steady decline in battery costs, which lowers the overall price of EVs and makes them more competitive with gasoline-powered cars. These factors have contributed to strong global sales growth. According to a Benchmark Mineral Intelligence report, nearly 1.75 million electric vehicles were sold globally in March 2026, bringing first-quarter 2026 EV sales to 4.0 million – down 3% on a year-over-year basis. In March 2026, EV sales grew 66% sequentially and 3% year over year. Per a report by Grand View Research, the global EV market size is projected to reach $6,523.97 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 32.5% from 2025 to 2030. This strong growth outlook benefits clean energy companies, particularly those that operate large EV charging networks in the United States, as rising EV adoption directly increases demand for charging infrastructure and its related services.
Increasing Costs Driven by Tariffs and OBBA: Escalating renewable installation costs have become a major hurdle for clean energy developers. In particular, higher steel prices, critical for manufacturing large wind turbine components, have recently pushed wind installation expenses even higher. The U.S. government’s elevated import tariffs, introduced in early 2025, have further increased cost burdens across the wind sector.
A Wood Mackenzie report has warned that tariff uncertainty, particularly import duties on materials and components, could disrupt cost forecasts for the U.S. wind industry. A key issue is the upcoming July 2026 deadline for the production tax credit, which is pushing developers to accelerate project timelines and secure equipment quickly before incentives lapse. Uncertainty surrounding import tariffs, particularly on turbine components, along with permitting delays, is creating additional challenges and slowing project execution. The OBBBA introduced significant changes to the tax credits available for eligible clean energy components and facilities, including the termination of the advanced manufacturing production tax credit for wind components sold after Dec. 31, 2027. In this context, the expiration of tax credits is expected to increase project costs far more than tariffs. Since these credits substantially reduce expenses, their expiration makes renewable energy development and production considerably more expensive.
Zacks Industry Rank Reflects Bright Outlook
The Zacks Alternative Energy industry is housed within the broader Zacks Oils-Energy sector. It carries a Zacks Industry Rank #72, which places it in the top 30% of more than 244 Zacks industries.
The group’s Zacks Industry Rank, which is basically the average of the Zacks Rank of all the member stocks, indicates bright near-term prospects. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.
Before we present a few alternative energy stocks that you may want to consider for your portfolio, let’s take a look at the industry’s recent stock-market performance and valuation.
Industry Beats S&P 500, Lags Sector
The Zacks Alternative Energy- Other Industry has outperformed the Zacks S&P 500 composite but underperformed its sector over the past year. The stocks in this industry have collectively surged 48.2% in the past year compared with the Zacks Oil-Energy sector’s 49.4% growth. The Zacks S&P 500 composite has gained 33.3% in the same time frame.
One-Year Price Performance
Industry's Current Valuation
On the basis of the trailing 12-month EV/EBITDA ratio, which is commonly used for valuing alternative energy stocks, the industry is currently trading at 23.16X compared with the S&P 500’s 17.76X and the sector’s 7.2X.
Over the past five years, the industry has traded as high as 23.19X, as low as 9.89X and at the median of 13.56X.
EV-EBITDA Ratio (TTM)
3 Alternative Energy Stocks to Buy
Bloom Energy: Based in San Jose, CA, the company generates and distributes renewable energy. On April 28, 2026, Bloom Energy announced its first-quarter results. It reported earnings of 44 cents per share compared with 3 cents in the year-ago quarter. The company’s top line also improved 130.4% year over year to $751.1 million. The company reported adjusted operating income of $129.7 million in the first quarter, reflecting an increase of $116.5 million year over year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Bloom Energy’s 2026 sales implies an improvement of 80.3% year over year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings suggests an improvement of 151.3% year over year. The company currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Price & Consensus: BE
Montauk Renewables: Based in Pittsburgh, PA, the company is a fully-integrated renewable energy company. MNTK specializes in the management, recovery and conversion of biogas into renewable energy. On May 6, 2026, Montauk Renewables announced its first-quarter results. It reported break-even earnings. The company produced nearly 1.4 million Metric Million British Thermal Units (MMBtu) of RNG in the quarter, flat year over year. RINs sold of 12.4 million reflect an increase of 2.5 million or 25.5% year over year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Montauk Renewables’ 2026 sales implies an improvement of 21.5% year over year. The consensus estimate for 2026 earnings suggests an improvement of 700% year over year. The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Price & Consensus: MNTK
FuelCell Energy: Based in Danbury, CT, the company makes ultra-clean, highly efficient power plants that can run on fuels like renewable biogas and natural gas, producing electricity with far less pollution and fewer greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fossil-fuel plants. In March 2026, the company announced its fiscal first-quarter results. It reported a loss of 52 cents per share, which improved 61% year over year. During the same month, the company introduced standardized packaged 12.5???MW power blocks to enable faster deployment in grid-constrained markets. It directly targets one of the fastest-growing infrastructure markets — AI-driven data centers.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s fiscal 2026 sales implies an improvement of 0.9% year over year. The estimate for fiscal 2026 earnings implies 50.6% growth year over year. The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.
Price & Consensus: FCEL