This list was last updated on 4/27/2022.

ETFs are Exchange-listed funds which pool investor’s money for the purpose of making Alternative Energy investments. Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) track a specified Alternative Energy index. This list also includes closed-end mutual funds and other pooled investments which trade on exchanges.

ALPS Clean Energy ETF (ACES)
ASN Groenprojectenfonds (ASNGF.AS)
Bluefield Solar Income Fund (BSIF.L)
Defiance Next Gen H2 ETF (HDRO)
Evolve Funds Automobile Innovation Index ETF (CARS.TO)
First Trust Global Wind Energy Index (FAN)
First Trust Nasdaq Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund (GRID)
First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Index Fund  (QCLN)
Foresight Solar Fund Limited (FSFL.L)
Global X Lithium ETF (LIT)
Global X Uranium ETF (URA)
Global X Renewable Energy Producers ETF (RNRG), (formerly YLCO)
Greencoat Renewables Fund (GRP.IR)
Greencoat UK Wind PLC (UKW.L)
Harvest Clean Energy ETF (HCLN.TO)
Invesco Global Clean Energy ETF (PBD)
Invesco MSCI Global Timber ETF (CUT)
Invesco Solar ETF (TAN)
Invesco Wilderhill Clean Energy (PBW)
iShares Global Timber & Forestry Index Fund (WOOD)
iShares Self-Driving EV and Tech ETF (IDRV)
iShares S&P Global Clean Energy Index ETF (ICLN)
iShares S&P Global Nuclear Energy Index (NUCL)
KraneShares Electric Vehicles and Future Mobility Index ETF (KARS)
KraneShares Global Carbon ETF (KRBN)
NextEnergy Solar Ord (NESF.L)
Pickens Morningstar® Renewable Energy Response ETF (RENW)
SPDR Kensho Clean Power ETF (XKCP)
The Renewables Infrastructure Group Limited (TRIG.L)
Triodos Groenfonds NV (TRIGF.AS)
VanEck Vectors Low Carbon Energy ETF (SMOG)
Van Eck Nuclear Energy ETF (NLR)
Van Eck Rare Earth/Strategic Metals ETF (REMX)

If you know of any alternative energy ETF or ETP that is not listed here, but which should be, please let us know in the comments.  Also for funds in the list that you think should be removed.

Thanks to Peter Smit for his extensive suggestions for updates to this list.

The post List of Alternative Energy and Clean Energy ETFs appeared first on Alternative Energy Stocks.

Steve Sollheiser 

Both Wind ETFs are showing interesting chart patterns.

In the PowerShares Global Wind Energy Portfolio (PWND) chart we can see a Falling Wedge patern, that consists of two non-parallel trend lines that engulf price. The upwards trend line has been tested for 5 times, which is an indication of its strength.

The support trend line was tested four times, which confirms its validity and the accuracy of the pattern.

The Falling Wedge, contrary to intuition, is a Bullish pattern which predicts a breakout upwards and an uptrend in 68% of the time. We would expect price to break the resistance trend line and continue upwards, the target of the breakout calculated at $7.7, and would be reached in 70% of  breakouts.

In a longer-term analysis, we can also see a strong support level on the $6.6 price level, as price tested this level 3 times and did not break it. In case of a breakout below this level we would enter a short trade, and will add to this position in case price pulls back to this level from below. The conservative target for this trade would be calculated by the Measure rule and would be $5.4.

The First Trust Global Wind Energy Index (FAN) is also showing very interesting (and quite similar) price-action.

There was a breakout of a ascending trend line and an accurate pullback to this trend line at March 19th, which resulted in a 4.3% bearish move (marked by the Red arrow on the chart). We can see the price is now on a support level at the $7.8 level.

This level was tested for 5 times, which makes it a strong short-term support level. We would expect high probability of a breakout of this level downwards, and a continuation of a bearish move. The target for such trade is at least $7.48. For the sellers, beware of the support level at $7.6 which was tested twice and can still be a barrier for price on its way down.

In conclusion, if FAN price breaks the support level of $7.8 we will sell it, expecting it to go even lower. If PWND stock will break the $6.6 we will also enter a sell trade, with target at $5.4

Steve Sollheiser is a trader and a writer with experience in trading stock chart patterns and Forex. In his site he shares his insight about chart trading and trading psychology.

The post Sell Wind ETFs if Support is Violated appeared first on Alternative Energy Stocks.

by Clean Energy Intel

It is becoming increasingly clear that the international community fully recognizes the need to ensure that the global economy does not become engulfed by another financial crisis at this critical juncture. Developments with regard to the referendum question in Greece and the fate of MF Global make this issue particularly pressing. There is therefore significant rationale for some kind of coordinated G20 action out of the coming Cannes Summit on November 3-4th.

In an article in early October, I argued that it was clearly in the interests of countries like China to aid the work-out process in Europe:

‘….At that point, any discussion of negotiations on a potential deal on European debt at the G20 summit could help the market higher. There is certainly room for such a development and my read of the political tea leaves is that it may well involve a significant commitment from China. If that looks likely to be the case, it should again help the market towards a recovery…’

You can read the original article here and a more detailed assessment of the rationale and likely path forward here and here. That overall assessment looks generally to have been proven to be correct, with China’s willingness to support the EFSF mechanism in some manner now more or less clear (though any significantly negative political developments in Greece could obviously put that support on hold).

Interestingly, another reading of the political tea leaves suggests that the G20 may well decide to announce a further coordinated program – to convince the markets that they can act to sustain global growth. This could involve:

• An overall stimulus commitment from a number of member countries  – and particularly those currently running current account surpluses

• In particular, a deal on investment in clean energy (expect a lot from Germany, China and Japan on this) 

How to judge the market’s likely response is difficult in the midst of its confused reaction to both the MF Global and Greek referendum issues. However, four points seem reasonable:

• If the price action continues to be negative on the S&P and the Euro going into the G20 an announcement of something like the agreement discussed above (or initial talk about it) could produce a decent dead cat bounce of significant proportions at least. Both the SPY and FXE ETFS could bounce sharply.

• We should also be getting further confirmation of the commitment of China and other BRICs to the EFSF story. 

• In clean energy, wind and solar and the like would get a decent leg up. Solar has been destroyed in the last few months and a basket of solar players could do very well on an announcement such as that discussed above. First Solar (FSLR), SunPower (SPWRA), Suntech Power (STP) and Yingli Green Energy (YGE) for example together look interesting as an announcement play at current prices. Alternatively, purchasing a solar ETF such as TAN also makes sense. In wind, exposure to market bellwether Vestas (VWDRY.PK) or simply FAN, the best wind ETF probably makes most sense. 

The bottom line is that the G20 member countries know that both the global economy and the markets are at a critical juncture. They are therefore likely to pull out all the stops in order to convince the markets that they can prevent a financial crisis of global proportions. And some stimulus from a push on clean energy is entirely possible.

Disclosure: I am long SPY. I intend to purchase a basket of clean energy stocks over the next 24 hours.

About the Author: Clean Energy Intel is a free investment advisory service (available at www.cleanenergyintel.com), produced by a retired hedge fund strategist who also manages his own money inside a clean energy investment fund.

The post Could The G20 Deliver A Growth and Clean Energy Pact? appeared first on Alternative Energy Stocks.

Tom Konrad, CFA

My target sector allocation for Green Energy Sectors: How much to put in Solar, Wind, Geothermal, Biomass, Biofuels, Energy Efficiency, Alternative Transport, and enabling technologies such as Smart Grid and Transmission.

In Part I of this series on green energy investing (see also Part II and Part III), I suggested readers "structure your portfolio to reflect the technologies which are actually going to make a difference."  This is not the same as investing in a market portfolio, because the market tends to overemphasize the most exciting or familiar (as opposed to the most useful) technologies.  This is true for all-too-human venture capitalists, as well as public stock investors.

Checklist

Real advantage in investing comes from doing better analysis than the majority of other investors.  By understanding the mistakes or biases of other investors, even small investors are capable of beating the market.  For each green energy sector, we should ask ourselves:

1. How big a role will this sector play in our energy future?
2. How big a role do stocks in the sector play in the market currently?
3. Can we buy stocks in companies which will profitably play this role, or is the current industry likely to be disrupted by new entrants and technologies?
4. If we can’t invest in the companies which will make a difference, can we invest in enabling technologies?

If the sector’s role will be large, but it plays a smaller role in the current stock market, and we can buy companies today which are likely to play a significant part, then that is a sector which should be prominent in our portfolio. 

Assessing Sectors

There are countless studies and reports detailing what our energy future will or should look like.  One that I think takes a fairly unbiased view of the available technology is the Gigaton Throwdown.  The Gigaton Throwdown looked at technologies’ potential over the next 10 years and asked if they could make a difference in job growth, energy independence, and climate change.  Another reference I’ve used in the past is the London Accord, which used modern portfolio theory to assess the effectiveness of many technologies towards mitigating climate change.  Because most of these studies focus more on climate change than peak oil, which I consider to be a more immediate threat, I also consider strategies such as mass transit, biking, and road pricing which will help us cope with transportation fuel scarcity.  I lump these strategies together as Alternative Transport.

To get an idea of the market’s view of technologies, I obtained a report from BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research.  Below is a chart of the market capitalization of the CleanTech sectors they cover:

BofA Merril Lynch does not consider Alternative Transport to be Cleantech, but they do cover most of the other technologies I think are important.  

Industry Disruption

In terms of industry disruption, I look at what reports have to say about what is required to achieve scale in the industry.  For instance, Geothermal is an extremely economic form of renewable electricity with relatively low environmental impact.  In order to achieve scale, Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) will have to be developed, a technology which is not currently being worked on by publicly traded industry players.  EGS is unlikely to displace the current set of companies, whose profitability depends on extracting energy from existing resources and owning the mineral rights to those resources, but neither are they likely to be able to take advantage of the opportunities of EGS.

Solar needs technological innovation in Photovoltaics (PV) or Concentrating Photovoltaics (CPV) in order to be cheap enough to be brought to scale quickly, and such innovation is likely to be harmful to many existing industry players working on incremental improvements to current PV.  Concentrating Solar Thermal have few established players and is already in the midst of industry technological disruption.

Efficient lighting is in the midst of rapid technological change, but many efficiency technologies, such as geothermal heat pumps have been around for years and have established and profitable players.  The insulation industry is even more staid.  Advancing energy efficiency requires much more cultural and political change than technological change, so efficiency investments are likely to be very profitable if concern about climate change and energy security drive the needed cultural and political changes.

Putting these sources together, here are my assessments of the four questions I outlined above for each sector.

Of the nine technologies  listed, only Efficiency and Alternative Transport (Mass Transit, Biking, etc.) strongly meet my criteria.  Among enabling technologies, only Transmission is a well-established industry not prone to disruption.

Smart Grid and Storage technologies also appear frequently as enabling technologies, but both of these industries currently are undergoing rapid technological change, and so investments should be chosen carefully.  Finally, Wind, Geothermal, and Waste show current market capitalization of a similar scale to their likely future, while Waste has the added advantage of being an enabling technology for biofuels.

My Target Portfolio

Putting all of this together, the majority of my target portfolio is composed of Energy Efficiency, Alternative Transport (such as mass transit), and Electric Grid sectors.  The balance goes to Wind, Geothermal, Electricity Storage, and Biomass/Waste to Energy.  In contrast, Modern portfolio Theory would suggest that your Green Energy Portfolio should look very much like the market cap breakdown I obtained from BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research.  Yet Modern Portfolio Theory is designed for people who are trying to match the market, not beat it.  

If you disagree with my judgments here, you should now have the tools to incorporate your own thoughts on our energy future into your own table, and use the result to allocate your portfolio.

Building Your Portfolio

If you’d like to achieve a portfolio like this yourself, Alternative Energy ETFs can get you about half-way.  As I discussed in my recent comparison of Green Energy ETFs, the Powershares Global Progressive Transport Portfolio (PTRP) is a good way to invest in Alternative Transport, and the First Trust Global Wind Energy Index (FAN) serves the same function in the wind sector.

In November, First Trust launched their Nasdaq Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund (Nasdaq: GRID).  When I analyzed GRID’s portfolio holdings, I found that it was much more of a general grid infrastructure ETF than a narrowly focused Smart Grid ETF, but that it addresses the sector I’m most interested in much better than it would have if it only focused on Smart Grid stocks.  

The other sectors still need to be addressed with stock-picking, but stock picking is likely to be more effective (and take less time) if you can focus on a narrower range of companies.  I discussed some simple approaches to stock picking in Part I.  For those looking at the battery sector, an excellent place to start is John Petersen’s series Battery Investing for Beginners, the popularity of which was the inspiration for the more broadly focused Green Energy Investing for Beginners series you are now reading.  

If you have suggestions for further articles in this series, leave a comment.

DISCLOSURE: None.

DISCLAIMER: The information and trades provided here and in the comments are for informational purposes only and are not a solicitation to buy or sell any of these securities. Investing involves substantial risk and you should evaluate your own risk levels before you make any investment. Past results are not an indication of future performance. Please take the time to read the full disclaimer here.

The post Green Energy Investing For Beginners, Part IV: Model Portfolio appeared first on Alternative Energy Stocks.

Charles Morand

I received a press release yesterday about a new Emerging Energy Research (EER) study on wind power installations in the US for 2009 and beyond.

EER argues that US installations could be down as much as 24% in 2009 from a record 8.55 GW in 2008. While utility-led projects remain mostly on track, smaller IPPs and developers that rely on project finance or other forms of external financing are finding the current market environment challenging.

However, record growth could return as early as 2010 with 9 GW installed, driven in large part by the stimulus package. EER sees the following encouraging signs:

• Near-term growth could be helped by fiscal incentives, most notably the 30% Investment Tax Credit (ITC). Unlike a Production Tax Credit (PTC), an ITC does not require the existence of a tax liability and should lessen the industry’s reliance on tax equity investors – there are far fewer of those kicking around these days 
• The possible enactment of a Federal renewable portfolio standard would provide a substantial long-term boost for the industry, and momentum is building in this direction
• New interstate transmission lines aimed at unlocking high-potential wind resources are being built or at the very least discussed 
• Investments in manufacturing capacity by OEMs remain on track, indicating that the industry sees the crisis as only temporary
• Regulated utilities – with the ability to finance wind projects on-balance sheet – are making a growing commitment to wind (recently exemplified by Berkshire Hathaway’s MidAmerican Energy)

Although the wind power sector is decidedly more ‘global’ than most other forms of renewable energy – meaning there is greater geographical diversity to the industry’s aggregate revenue base – the US remains, according to Ernst & Young, the top-ranked market in the long and near terms. In the near-term, defined as the next two years, the US and China are far ahead of the pack.        

The health of the global wind power sector has, in the space of a few short years, become very much tied to the health of the US wind power sector, with traditionally strong European markets such as Germany and Denmark gradually loosing their influence. What happens in the US over the next two years will thus be consequential for how wind power stocks perform.

It seems as though investors are already looking past the difficult year 2009 will almost certainly prove to be for the industry, having pushed both wind power ETFs, FAN and PWND, for beyond the rest of the market over the course of the latest bull run.

But investors beware! Just as the market was pricing in Armageddon for the clean technology/alt energy sectors just a few months ago, now might be a bit premature to get over-excited:

• Although credit conditions are normalizing, no one yet knows for certain what the future will look like, but many people agree that the financing environment will almost certainly remain challenging for a long time. Should inflation kick in as a result of fiscal and monetary incentives, interest rates could shoot right up in response, which would prove disastrous for any sector using large amounts of leverage
• The Federal RPS portion of the Waxman-Markey bill remains controversial and the bill will most certainly continue to undergo changes on its way to becoming law. Unless and until this happens – the bill becoming law with a Federal-level RPS in it – I am inclined to discount this entirely as a potential factor in future growth
• Transmission has certainly been on the agenda to a greater extent than at any other time in the past few decades, but we are still far – very far, in fact – from the investment levels required to truly unlock wind’s potential in America. Governance systems around grid investments remain complex, with key areas of decision-making split between various actors whose incentives are not always aligned. I would venture to say that many people still see this as a major barrier to wind development, not as an enabler
• The latest run in wind stock has been very impressive, with the ETFs outperforming the S&P 500 by 25-30%. Last fall, their relative decline was equally formidable. As pointed out earlier this week by Tom, the magnitude of gains we’ve experienced over the past three months should probably be be viewed with some caution. I’m not sure whether we’re headed for an imminent decline and, if so, how pronounced it will be (I’m a lousy market timer). But if we are, you can certainly expect wind stocks to fall further than the market as a whole. Any risk-averse investor should probably stay away at this point, or consider taking some profit   

Wind continues to be among my favorite alt energy technologies and there are several years of strong growth left; the sector’s expansion is not about to normalize. However, these are uncertain times and caution is of essence. Just as an onslaught of negative sentiment pushed wind stocks further south than they should have gone a few months ago, the current onslaught on positive sentiment – which is not justified, in my view – is doing the opposite.

DISCLOSURE: None             

The post Wind Investors Beware! appeared first on Alternative Energy Stocks.