An updated edition of the Sept. 11, 2026, article. 

The Democratic takeover of Congress last week has introduced significant legislative and federal policy tailwinds for the clean energy and energy storage sectors. This political transition is expected to offer critical policy stability by safeguarding key Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax credits, accelerating grid interconnection updates and unlocking federal funding for large-scale regional transmission infrastructure. 

Meanwhile, rising electricity demand, accelerating electric vehicle (EV) adoption and increasingly severe heatwaves that strain power grids during peak periods continue to support growth in the U.S. renewable energy industry.

Concurrently, artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure has introduced massive continuous baseload demand for data centers running complex large language models. Four major tech firms — Meta, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft — accounted for nearly half of all global corporate clean energy Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) signed last year. 

With BloombergNEF projecting U.S. data center capacity to reach 194 GW by 2035, reflecting more than a 300% surge from 2025 levels, clean generation remains the primary scalable energy source to meet this fast-growing compute load.

Traditional economic factors, including low levelized costs of energy (LCOE) for solar PV and wind, are also providing a strong baseline to support this rising grid load.

Meanwhile, the weather-dependent nature of solar and wind power, coupled with surging electricity demand, has made battery energy storage systems (BESS) increasingly essential to the growth of the broader clean energy industry. By storing excess power and releasing it during peak hours, storage turns variable clean energy into reliable baseload power while shielding networks from overloads and blackouts. Against this backdrop, declining battery costs have helped propel global annual investment in energy storage beyond $100 billion.

Operational constraints — specifically multi-year utility queue backlogs for connecting new utility-scale solar and wind projects — are further compelling developers toward co-located battery storage, microgrids and rapidly deployable on-site generation.

Beyond generation and storage assets, physical grid modernization and supply-chain localization have emerged as indispensable industry growth drivers. High-voltage transmission lines require major expansion to route clean power from remote wind and solar resources directly into high-demand urban and data center corridors. 

Furthermore, surging enterprise electricity demand is accelerating corporate adoption of advanced 24/7 carbon-free energy. As hyperscale tech operators sign long-term PPAs for clean baseload power, technology enablers providing rapid on-site fuel cells, resilient commercial backup generation, battery storage systems, and utility-scale wind equipment are capturing multi-billion-dollar backlogs across the digital power ecosystem.

Together, these structural market forces underpin the long-term growth trajectory of the renewable energy and energy storage markets. According to a BloombergNEF report published on Nov. 6, 2026, the United States is expected to record annual capacity additions of 89 gigawatts (GW) in 2026 and 93 GW in 2027 across solar, wind and energy storage. 

Against this backdrop, investors interested in capitalizing on the benefits of the booming U.S. renewable energy and energy storage space may consider adding core clean energy stocks like Bloom Energy (BE Quick QuoteBE - Free Report) and Clearway Energy (CWEN Quick QuoteCWEN - Free Report) to their portfolios. Supporting energy technology enablers like Generac Holdings (GNRC Quick QuoteGNRC - Free Report) and utility providers like PPL Corp. (PPL Quick QuotePPL - Free Report) may offer compelling ways to participate in the broader grid transition, as both play pivotal roles in strengthening overall power network resilience.

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4 Renewable Energy & Battery Storage Stocks to Buy

Bloom Energy specializes in on-site, non-combustion solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology, providing 24/7, low-carbon electricity for data centers, microgrids and industrial use. Its Energy Server can be configured for using 100% hydrogen fuel, providing a highly efficient, combustion-free way of generating renewable, reliable electricity. 

The company has deployed over 1.5 GW of low-carbon power across more than 1,200 installations globally. 

In September, Bloom Energy released a special report named “The New Rules of AI Power,” showing that its unique 800V DC-native fuel cell solution can reduce non-compute capital expenditures for a 1 GW AI data center by 27% and five-year total cost of ownership by 9%.

The consensus estimate for this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company’s 2026 sales implies year-over-year growth of 125%. The stock boasts a long-term (three-to-five years) earnings growth rate of 38%. 

Clearway Energy is a leading independent clean power developer and operator with over 350 clean energy projects across America. Its portfolio comprises approximately 13.9 GW of gross capacity in 27 U.S. states, including approximately 11.1 GW of wind, solar and battery energy storage systems and approximately 2.8 GW of flexible dispatchable power generation providing critical grid reliability services. 

In the third quarter of 2026, the company announced a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with an investment-grade utility for its 975-megawatt Chimney Canyon solar-plus-battery energy storage system (BESS) project in Arizona, which is expected to commence commercial operations in 2029. Clearway Energy estimates its total potential corporate capital investment to be $350 million. 

The consensus mark for this Zacks Rank #2 company’s 2026 sales implies year-over-year growth of 17.8%. The stock boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 10.20%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Generac Holdings provides a wide range of energy technology solutions that include power generation equipment, energy storage systems, energy management devices & solutions, and other power products and services for the residential, commercial, data center, telecom, rental and industrial markets. The company's designed solar-plus-battery storage systems like the PWRcell are capable of storing renewable energy and powering homes during outages.

Notably, its PWRcell units produced 267.8 GWh in 2025, equivalent to 179,899 metric tons of carbon dioxide avoided or removing over 39,000 gas-powered cars from the road for the entire year. 

In June 2026, GNRC announced the acquisition of a new facility in Belvidere, IL, to expand the company's packaging capacity for large-megawatt (MW) generators. This buyout was directly motivated by accelerating demand for reliable backup power, particularly from hyperscale data centers and other mission-critical facilities.

The stock boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 12%. The consensus estimate for this Zacks Rank #2 company’s 2026 sales implies year-over-year growth of 17.2%.

PPL, a traditional utility provider, focuses on transitioning to cleaner energy, modernizing its electrical grid, and reducing carbon emissions across its regulated utility operations in Kentucky and Pennsylvania. PPL has set an ambitious goal to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, in addition to targeting a 70% reduction from 2010 levels by 2035 and an 80% reduction by 2040.

Through 2021, the company has reduced carbon emissions by nearly 60% from 2010 levels. PPL expects to retire nearly 2,000 megawatts of coal generation over the next 15 years.

The company targets 100% light-duty vehicle electrification by 2030 and aims for 35% fleet electrification for forklifts and light-duty vehicles, alongside 100% bucket trucks with electric lift technology by 2030. 

The stock boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 5.30%. The consensus estimate for this Zacks Rank #2 company’s 2026 sales implies year-over-year growth of 7.53%.