Energy Infrastructure Stocks: Time to Touch GRASS

Subscribers to Chart of the Week received this commentary on Sunday, August 17.

The most important statistic I came across last week had nothing to do with stocks. It was a local weather report: Cincinnati’s East Side has gotten more rainfall over the past two months than any two-month span in recorded history. It’s not just hyperlocal; the El Nino climate pattern is back and wreaking havoc across the country, per the Farmer’s Almanac of 2026-2027.

Global warming is accelerating the problem. You can’t get political about data. NASA.gov – as apolitical as it gets – states very clearly, “current climate models indicate that rising temperatures will intensify the Earth’s water cycle, increasing evaporation. Increased evaporation will result in more frequent and intense storms.”

If the world is going to be on fire, you may as well make some money trying to put out the flames. Companies devoted to clean energy that can also scale the charts are the rare win-win scenario where you can indeed have it all. After bursting onto the scene in the last decade, clean energy stocks have jumped the shark in recent years, as subsidy-related headwinds and political obstacles loom. But since all it seems to do lately is rain, it seems fitting to revisit a post-hype sector to see if there are any opportunities. As the macro market climate – no pun intended – clears the way, we’re revisiting a post-hype sector to see if there are any opportunities.

This sweater has an endless amount of threads you can pull on. The universe is vast, so to keep it between 10 and 2, we’re going to touch GRASS (grid, renewables, alternatives, solar, and storage.)

Grid

The U.S. power grid drastically needs a facelift, and bigwig industrials have answered the call. Eaton Corporation PLC (NYSE:ETN), GE Vernova (GEV), Vertiv (VRT), and Constellation Energy (CEG) are all electrical utility companies with hyperscaler connections, all making efforts to accommodate Big Tech, and all conveniently boast healthy year-to-date returns. Generac (GNRC) and Carrier Global (CARR) are other names to know on a smaller scale.

Only ETN stepped out of the earnings confessional with a next-day move higher, gapping 7.3% higher on July 31. The shares built on that breakout past $440 to nab a record high of $478 on Aug. 12. Even the subsequent pullback keeps ETN in an uptrend channel. You probably can’t go wrong with any of these names as ‘set it and forget it’ stocks due to their data center affiliation.

Renewables

Renewables, for the sake of this study, focus on hydroelectric and wind. Brookfield Renewables (BEP) and NextEra Energy (NEE) are the heavyweights to know. Both came out of their respective earnings reports unscathed, though the former has a more intact uptrend.

Keep an eye on under-the-radar Clearway Energy Inc (NYSE:CWEN). The company quietly reported a top-line beat for the second quarter, sending the stock up 5.4% on Wednesday. The shares are working off a rejection at a double-top formation from earlier in the summer but have bounced off $30 in late July. With 6.2% of the stock’s total available float sold short, CWEN is the only name discussed (so far) with some short squeeze potential.

At the height of WDAY’s Wednesday rally, the stock’s 14-Day Relative Strength Index (RSI) crossed ‘overbought’ territory at 70. It’s since cooled to 60.

Alternatives

This is where it gets interesting. You can’t mention alternative energy without highlighting the run Bloom Energy Corp (NYSE:BE) has been on. The hydrogen fuel cell stock traded at $45.28 a year ago and now sits at $243.73. Bloom has ridden the coattails of data center partnerships more than the aforementioned industrials and grid staples, trading as high as $351.28 on June 25 but cooling off amid a subsequent 18.6% third-quarter drawdown. This has allowed the shares to work off their “overbought” condition, while their 260-day moving average stepped up. There’s still some short-squeeze potential to boot. Bloom may not be as parabolic as it was earlier this year, but it’s the king of the alternative energy space.

Plug Power (PLUG) and FuelCell (FCEL) are two other hydrogen stocks to monitor. Peabody Energy (BTU) has made some forays into clean coal worth mentioning, while there’s an entire nuclear and uranium energy sector in its nascent stages with names like Oklo (OKLO) and Energy Fuels (UUUU). But for now, Bloom Energy is the talisman.

Solar

Another subsector where you probably know the players. First Solar Inc (NASDAQ:FSLR), Enphase Energy (ENPH), Sunrun (RUN), and NextPower (NXT) have all been household names, even if their technical setups have been choppy. Given the formidable subsidization headwinds, fundamentals have been hard to nail down, and that makes the sector more speculative in nature, which means massive short squeeze potential across the board.

But the dam could soon break. First Solar (FSLR) added 2.4% after a second-quarter earnings beat where the company also kept its full-year guidance. First Solar also addressed Section 232 rulings, a trade law provision that allows the government to investigate imports on grounds of national security. A decision is expected soon and could loosen up the restrictions on key solar panel materials. If it breaks that way, the entire solar sector could be shining in late 2026.

Storage

Energy storage could be the buzzword of 2027. The problem is the disconnect between the companies revolutionizing the sector and the stock performance. Fluence Energy Inc (NASDAQ:FLNC) is the largest specialized company, with a market cap of only $2.4 billion. Top 2026 pick Energy Vault Holdings (NRGV) and Eos Energy Enterprises (EOSE) are smaller and even more speculative.

FLNC has a floor in place at $13, but just gapped lower by 7.2% after a fiscal third-quarter revenue miss and trimmed 2026 outlook overshadowed a massive backlog. Banking on that backlog for a rally puts Fluence in the same pile as its peers though, in that you’re banking on companies with shoddy fundamentals and no profitability path forward to beyond vague estimates of the future.

Clean energy is fascinating because it’s not something you can learn overnight. The more you research, the more you’re inundated with. It can be daunting to keep track of all the breakthroughs, new methods, regulatory hurdles, and projections. I intentionally let myself run amok to highlight how scattered alternative energy is right now. It needs consolidation and direction.

The good news is that hands could soon be forced. Bloomberg New Energy Finance estimates a 19-gigawatt shortfall in power for AI data centers by 2035 if growth continues at its current pace. Gordon Gecko was right; greed is good, for the alternative energy sector. If you choose to bury your head in the sand about global warming, at least acknowledge that many of the names discussed above are viable ‘picks-and-shovels’ plays tangential to AI infrastructure.

Touching GRASS With ETFs

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