With it becoming increasingly clear that Earth’s longevity and the proliferation of renewable energy go hand-in-hand, investors are quickly realizing that stocks in the space are set up to benefit from a multi-decade demand tailwind fueled by government incentives, cost-cutting technological advancements and oil and gas’ unjustifiable emissions profile. That is, so long as their underlying companies stand up to due diligence, offering ample data in support of a long-term investment.
This content has been prepared as part of a partnership with renewable energy stocks Canadian Solar Inc., Brookfield Renewable Partners LP, Tidewater Renewables Ltd. and Ballard Power Systems Inc., and is intended for informational purposes only.
To get Stockhouse readers interested in expanding their allocations started off on the right foot, let’s evaluate popular stocks excelling at major forms of renewable energy, including solar, biofuel, wind energy, hydro power and hydrogen, as determined by Google Gemini based on search results from Canadian investors in September 2025.
4 top stocks across the renewable energy spectrum
- Solar energy: Canadian Solar.
- Biofuels: Tidewater Renewables.
- Wind energy and hydro power: Brookfield Renewable Partners.
- Hydrogen: Ballard Power Systems.
Solar energy
Total global installed solar energy capacity is expected to almost triple from 2.2 TW in 2024 to 7.1 TW in 2030, according to Solar Power Europe, cementing the need for reliable technology providers to not only meet growing demand, but become more efficient at satisfying it.
Enter Canadian Solar, market capitalization US$871.64 million, one of the largest renewable energy companies in the world known for its solar photovoltaic modules, battery storage solutions, as well as the development, ownership and operation of utility-scale energy projects.
Headquartered in Kitchener, Ontario, the company has delivered nearly 165 GW of solar photovoltaic modules to clients across more than 20 countries; developed, built and connected 12 GWp of solar power projects and 6 GWh of battery storage projects; and shipped more than 13 GWh of battery energy storage solutions, ending Q2 2025 with a contracted backlog of approximately US$3 billion.
Canadian Solar’s pipeline is evidence of the benefits of scale to come, including 27 GWp of solar and 80 GWh of battery energy storage capacity at various stages of development, all of which bodes well for the company building upon the gobs of net income it generated over the past five years.
Canadian Solar stock (NASDAQ:CSIQ) has not reflected this potential, giving back a staggering 59.66 per cent since 2020, last trading at US$12.98.
Investor worries, attributable to the Trump administration’s tariffs and abrupt rolling back of climate initiatives, likely underestimate the power of a company proving that it can make money amid geopolitical uncertainty.
Biofuels
Next up we have biofuels, which are made from wood, agricultural or food waste, and which the International Energy Agency expects to account for about 95 per cent of renewable fuel growth through 2030, driven by demand from the industrial, transportation and real estate sectors.
In terms of numbers, this looks like more than US$100 billion in value creation between 2023 and 2030, supported by more than 60 countries with liquid biofuel policies in place, increasingly efficient feedstock processing technology and more hard-to-abate industries catching on to the cost benefits of transforming their waste into renewable fuel.
Buoyed by this prospective backdrop, Tidewater Renewables, market capitalization C$169.32 million, presents itself as a renewable energy stock of choice specializing in low-carbon fuels, including renewable diesel, hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuel.
The company’s renewable diesel facility in British Columbia, producing since Q4 2023, boasts a capacity of 3 Mbbl/d, using feedsotcks such as used cooking oil, dehydrated castor oil, tallow, canola & soybean oil, with renewable hydrogen capacity of 10 MMcf/d planned for the near future.
Tidewater is also building a sustainable aviation fuel facility on the same property designed to produce 6,500 liters per day, with commercial production slated for 2028 pending a final investment decision in 2026.
Following favorable legislation increasing renewable diesel requirements in B.C., Tidewater contracted 70 per cent of forecasted production in H2 2025 and reported a 165 per cent year-over-year increase in net income in Q2 2025, making management confident about the company’s position on the chess board to capitalize on regulatory tailwinds in the Canadian clean fuel sector.
Tidewater Renewables stock (TSX:LCFS) has added 121.43 per cent year-over-year, last trading at C$4.65, propelled by the B.C. legislation and a tripling in net income from C$5.25 million in Q1 2025 to C$13.03 million in Q2 2025, showing early signs of a re-rating, as the company vies to retrace a more than 65 per cent loss since listing in 2021.
Wind energy and hydro power
Our survey of the investable renewable energy universe carries on with wind energy, whose outsized role in the energy transition, according to the IEA, will see it become the second largest source of renewable electricity generation behind solar photovoltaic by 2030, with onshore and offshore capacity set to nearly double and quadruple, respectively, from 2023 figures. That said, capacity growth is lagging far behind what’s required to meet global net-zero emissions by 2050.
This growth shortage is shared by hydro power, currently the largest source of renewable energy in the world, outproducing all other sources combined, with growth of less than 1 per cent per year from 2018 to 2023 falling well short of the 3.5 per cent average required through 2030 to keep a net-zero 2050 within reach.
With tens of billions in market growth expected through the end of the decade between wind and hydro combined, Brookfield Renewable Partners, market capitalization C$19.55 billion, presents itself as a high-conviction candidate to harvest this momentum into shareholder value.
Brookfield Renewable is one of the world’s largest publicly traded renewable energy companies, specializing in hydroelectric, wind, solar, energy storage, nuclear services, carbon capture, renewable natural gas, as well as materials recycling and eFuels manufacturing.
In terms of infrastructure, we’re talking about US$138 billion in power and sustainable solutions assets and 47,500 MW in operational capacity spanning 25 countries as of Q2 2025. For our purposes, this breaks down into:
- 235 hydro power facilities with 8,300 MW of installed capacity and 2,400 MW under development.
- 261 wind energy facilities with 17,300 MW in installed capacity and 44,300 MW under development.
A subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management, which boasts more than US$1 trillion in assets under management, Brookfield Renewable has compounded funds from operations by 11 per cent per year since 2012 and dividend growth by 6 per cent per year since 2001, demonstrating management’s ability to balance value creation with environmental conservation.
The company ended Q2 with US$4.7 billion in liquidity, closing a US$7 billion financing for an offshore wind development in Poland during the quarter, its largest project financing to date, and benefits from consistent, inflation-linked contracted cash flow through 2029 – as per the Q2 2025 supplemental deck – to take advantage of value-accretive opportunities as they arise.
Despite consistently growing cash flow, while growing revenue from US$3.75 billion in 2020 to US$5.87 billion in 2024, the renewable energy stock (NYSE:BEPC) has given back 4.05 per cent over the past five years, undercutting the company’s tangible potential of reinforcing its global leadership position. Shares last traded at US$34.37.
Hydrogen
We end our romp through the renewable energy industry by considering hydrogen, a useful element in energy transportation, oil refining and the catalyzing of chemical processes positioned to occupy as leadership role as an alternative zero-emission fuel source for heavy industry and long-distance transport.
This thesis, with hundreds of billions in value hanging in the mix, is contingent on global governments aligning to incentivize low-emission hydrogen production and infrastructure to offset the dominant high-emission method of steam methane reforming using natural gas.
According to the IEA, potential output from low-emission hydrogen projects green-lit for construction would quintuple production from less than 1 million tons (MT) in 2023 to 4 MT in 2030. That said, global demand of 97 MT in 2023 demonstrates the scale of the problem, incentivizing companies to develop technology that makes green hydrogen more cost competitive.
A company that has been making strides in hydrogen-powered mobility for decades is Ballard Power Systems, market capitalization C$1.25 billion, whose fuel cell products have racked up more than 200 million kilometres on the road to date, in addition to applications in trains, marine vessels and stationary power. Management estimates that Ballard products reduce emissions by 1 million tons of CO2 per year.
From an income statement perspective, Ballard has struggled to grow over the past five years, with revenue fluctuating between a high of US$104.51 million in 2021 to a low of US$69.73 million in 2024, accompanied by mounting losses in net income, more than explaining the stock’s 78.35 per cent drop since 2020.
This state of elevated investor pessimism, coupled with low-emission hydrogen’s growth tailwind, sets the company up for a re-valuation as it strives to become cash flow positive in 2027 – as detailed in the Q2 2025 news release – by cutting operating costs by about 30 per cent through workforce and portfolio reductions, while strategically allocating its US$550 million cash pile.
Ballard Power stock (TSX:BLDP) last traded at C$4.14.
Looking ahead
Investors interested in continuing their renewable energy due diligence can dive into our past coverage on the sector. Here are three pieces of relevant content, each offering actionable advice about how to enhance your exposure:
- The 5-Minute Investor Podcast, Ep. 29: Green infrastructure stocks.
- Critical minerals and clean tech: Canada’s small-cap mining boom.
- The 10 largest renewable energy stocks in Canada.
Join the discussion: Find out what investors are saying about these top renewable energy stocks on the Canadian Solar Inc., Brookfield Renewable Partners LP, Tidewater Renewables Ltd. and Ballard Power Systems Inc. Bullboards and make sure to explore the rest of Stockhouse’s stock forums and message boards.
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