Will Hydropower's Dominance in Clean Energy Benefit GE Vernova?

Hydropower is currently the world’s largest source of renewable energy. As countries push for decarbonization and hydropower remains a critical player in the energy transition, GE Vernova Inc. (GEV) stands to benefit significantly from this trend.

The company has a strong legacy in hydropower, providing advanced turbines, generators and digital solutions for hydro plants worldwide. GEV’s strong dominance in the hydropower market can be vouched for by the fact that its Hydropower turbines and generators represent more than 25% of the current total installed capacity worldwide.

Looking ahead, hydropower is expected to maintain an average annual generation growth rate of 3.5% in 2024-2030 to provide approximately 5,400 terawatt-hour (TWh) of electricity per year (per a report by the International Energy Agency). This robust outlook should bode well for GE Vernova, considering its growing presence in the hydropower market, as evident from recent announcements.

Evidently, in June 2025, GEV secured an order from Rio Tinto, one of Canada's largest private producers of hydroelectricity, for the upgrade of eight turbine-alternator units at the Isle Maligne hydropower plant. The modernization of this nearly 100-year-old hydropower plant is expected to enhance the performance of the units for decades to come. In the same month, the company commissioned the first of four 250 megawatt (MW) variable speed units at THDC India Limited’s Tehri Pumped Storage Hydropower Plant, part of the Tehri Hydropower Complex. With this 1 gigawatt (GW) expansion, the complex will reach 2.4 GW of generating capacity and become India’s largest hydropower complex.

These announcements underscore how GE Vernova is strategically leveraging its industry-leading hydropower portfolio to strengthen its market position, drive sustainable energy solutions and capitalize on the sector’s long-term growth.

Other Stocks Warranting a Look

GEV apart, stocks that enjoy a strong hydropower portfolio and thus are expected to benefit from the aforementioned projection for the hydropower market are mentioned below:

Brookfield Renewable Partners (BEP): With almost 46,000 MW of generating capacity, this company manages a diverse portfolio of hydro, wind, solar, distributed energy, storage and sustainable solutions. The company currently has 235 hydropower facilities, with 8,300 MW of installed capacity.

IDACORP (IDA): It owns and operates 17 hydropower plants on the Snake River and its tributaries. With 17 low-cost hydropower projects at the core of its diverse energy mix, IDA’s residential, business, and agricultural customers pay among the nation's lowest prices for electricity.

The Zacks Rundown for GEV

Shares of GE Vernova have surged a solid 235.5% in the past year, outperforming the industry’s 59.1% gain.

From a valuation standpoint, GEV is currently trading at a forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) of 54.95X, representing a premium compared to the industry average of 20.82X.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GEV’s near-term bottom-line estimate has moved north over the past 60 days.

GEV currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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