With consumers and companies becoming more environmentally conscious, we are seeing a shift from fossil fuels toward cleaner and greener, energy options to help meet the world’s current demands. The renewable energy sector is set to experience continued growth, with the International Energy Agency expecting 90% of global production to come from renewable sources by 2050.
With this in mind, online trading platform and broker CMC Markets analysed which renewable energy stocks the public are most interested in, by using Google data from SEO tool Ahrefs to reveal the average number of monthly global searches for leading companies in the sector followed by the word ‘stock’. CMC Markets have also provided some expert tips for trading on renewable energy using their platform.
1. Tesla (TSLA) – 7,870,000 searches per month
Tesla’s stock receives 7,870,000 searches worldwide every month on average. Many will be familiar with the electric vehicle manufacturer led by multibillionaire CEO Elon Musk. The company specializes in the design, development, and manufacturing of electric cars, as well as offering renewable energy generation, consumption and storage for businesses and homeowners. With the soaring price of crude oil making petrol-powered vehicles more and more expensive to run, electric vehicles are likely to increase in popularity as they begin to dominate the future of personal transport.
Current share price: £600.80 (GBP)
2. Gevo (GEVO) – 425,000 searches per month
Gevo’s stock receives an average of 425,000 searches worldwide every month. The company, which is headquartered in Douglas County, Colorado, focuses on using renewable hydrocarbons to produce fuel rather than burning further fossil fuels. Gevo’s business model centres around its ‘Circular Economy’ in which the company uses carbon already present in the atmosphere to grow a variety of high-protein corn that can be used to feed livestock, with the leftover starch being used in the process of making isobutanol, which can be used to produce liquid hydrocarbon fuels.
Current share price: £2.04 (GBP)
3. Plug Power (PLUG) – 319,000 searches per month
Plug Power stock receives 319,000 searches worldwide every month. Plug Power is located in Latham, New York and develops green hydrogen in order to meet all manner of energy needs. It uses renewable energy sources such as solar, wind or hydroelectric power to provide electricity, which powers an electrolyzer that splits water into its two components, oxygen and hydrogen. It is this hydrogen the company then captures for powering fuel cells in electric vehicles or can be burned to heat homes and businesses with near to zero emissions.
Current share price: £13.67 (GBP)
4. Sunrun (RUN) – 54,000 searches per month
Sunrun stock receives 54,000 global searches every month on average. Founded in 2007, Sunrun is an American provider of photovoltaic solar energy generation systems, that captures solar power in order to produce renewable energy that can power homes. The company’s power purchase agreement model means that Sunrun will install and maintain solar panels on customers’ homes at no upfront cost, with an agreement that Sunrun will then sell back energy to the customer at an agreed rate for 20-25 years.
Current share price: £20.26 (GBP)
5. Bloom Energy (BE) – 49,000 searches per month
Bloom Energy stock receives 49,000 worldwide searches every month on average. The company, which is headquartered in San Jose, California, is a leading manufacturer of solid oxide fuel cells and sells renewable electricity to consumers for 5-15% less than buying from the national grid. These cells convert natural gas, biogas, or hydrogen into electricity without the need for combustion, by reacting the gases with oxygen at high temperatures – resulting in reduced water usage and air pollution. The company’s stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Current share price: £14.00 (GBP)
6. SunPower (SPWR) – 46,000 searches per month
SunPower stock receives an average of 46,000 searches per month globally. SunPower is another provider of photovoltaic solar energy generation systems for homeowners, as well as selling other solar power products including batteries, mounts and software. The company is headquartered in San Jose, California and currently focuses on providing solar panel solutions to US homeowners in 50 states. Its solar panels are known for being more expensive than its competitors, as the design allows for less sunlight to be reflected off the contacts, making the company a more efficient energy producer.
Current share price: £13.67 (GBP)
7. Cielo Waste Solutions (CMC.V) – 41,000 searches per month
Cielo Waste Solutions stock receives 41,000 searches around the world each month on average. This Canadian company is focused on transforming the abundance of household industrial waste into renewable diesel and without producing harmful emissions in the production process. The company applies a catalytic process to the otherwise landfill waste so that it forms a liquid. This is then heated to high temperatures, distilled and heated at different temperatures to produce lower carbon diesel, aviation and marine fuels.
Current share price: £0.042 (GBP)
8. SolarEdge Technologies (SEDG) – 35,000 searches per month
Solar Edge stock receives 35,000 global searches every month on average. The third solar energy company to make the list, SolarEdge is an Israeli company that develops and sells solar inverters for both commercial and residential settings. The company has addressed issues with typical solar panel systems which are limited by its lowest performing solar panel, by using power optimizers to harness the maximum amount of energy from each panel.
Current share price: £233.50 (GBP)
9. NextEra Energy (NEE) – 32,000 searches per month
NextEra stock receives 32,000 worldwide searches every month on average. The Florida-based company is the largest producer of wind and solar energy in the world, as well as the largest electric utility holding company by market capitalization at $139.11 billion. NextEra owns several subsidiaries, the largest of which is Florida Power & Light, which delivers electricity to approximately 10 million people – making it the third largest electric utility company in the US.
Current share price: £64.48 (GBP)
10. Vestas Wind Systems (VWS) – 28,000 searches per month
Vestas Wind Systems stock receives 28,000 searches every month on average. It is one of the largest wind turbine manufacturers in the world, with its systems utilizing wind energy to turn each turbine’s blades around a rotor that then spins a generator to produce electricity. The Danish company has been manufacturing wind turbines since 1979, and rival large competitors such as General Electric and Goldwind Vestas have more than 145 GW of wind turbines across 85 countries, including Germany, the Netherlands, Australia and the US.
Current share price: £19.07 (GBP)
Top tips for trading in renewable energy
1. Research the energy market
Research the energy market online and familiarize yourself with any existing or upcoming legislation or government spending that may impact on solar, wind, biomass or other renewable energy companies.
2. Compile a watchlist
Create a list of renewable energy companies that you feel have potential and monitor their stock performance, earnings reports or how media stories may impact on their business.
3. Decide on a trading strategy
Decide whether you want to invest in individual companies or whether you want to spread your risk by investing in an exchange-traded fund (EFT) that allows you to hold multiple assets from different companies within the renewable energy sector.
4. Practice your strategies
Use a simulated market environment to see how these renewable energy stocks perform before you invest with real money.
5. Regularly review performance
Shifts in global factors such as oil and gas prices can make renewables more or less attractive and influence share price. Keep an eye on trends that could quickly affect your returns.
The study was conducted by CMC Markets, a UK-based financial services company that offers online derivative trading such as spread betting and contracts for difference on shares and foreign exchange across world markets.
Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. The vast majority of retail client accounts lose money when spread betting and/or trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Credit to CMC Markets which provided the research.
Help keep news FREE for our readers
Supporting your local community newspaper/online news outlet is crucial now more than ever. If you believe in independent journalism, then consider making a valuable contribution by making a one-time or monthly donation. We operate in rural areas where providing unbiased news can be challenging. Read More About Supporting The West Wales Chronicle
