Renewable Energy & Battery Stocks to Buy Amid AI-Driven Power Boom

January 5, 2026

Aparajita Dutta

6 min read

An updated edition of the Nov. 13, 2025, article.

The renewable energy boom that we are witnessing worldwide today is expected to enhance immensely over the next few years, with exponentially growing artificial intelligence (AI)-driven electricity demand playing the role of a critical growth catalyst. Other factors like rapidly growing electrification of the transportation sector, favorable policy adaptations, plummeting costs of solar and wind installation, along with faster-paced renewable energy capacity expansion at emerging economies compared to developed nations, are also fueling the global clean energy industry.

But no doubt AI will be a crucial driving force behind the global renewable energy growth, with the International Energy Agency (“IEA”) predicting that adoption of existing AI applications in end-use sectors could lead to 1,400 Mt of CO2 emissions reductions in 2035.

To this end, it is imperative to mention that energy storage remains a vital pillar of the sustainable energy space, since renewable energy is intermittent in nature. As a massive push toward grid modernization is underway, energy storage has emerged as a fundamental requirement for the global energy transition process, effectively decoupling power generation from consumption and providing the reliable ‘baseload’ power necessary to sustain the energy-hungry AI infrastructure of the future.

Looking ahead, the average price for a battery pack is expected to fall 3% in 2026 to $105 per kilowatt-hour, according to a new BloombergNEF survey, thanks to a glut of manufacturing capacity in China, increased competition, and an ongoing shift to products that use lower-cost and safer lithium-iron phosphate technology. This should make energy storage systems more affordable and support the momentum of the rapidly growing renewable energy capacity, thereby creating a lucrative entry point for investors eager to transfer the AI revolution-led power demand to their portfolio.

Amid this backdrop, you may consider adding core clean energy stocks like Canadian Solar CSIQ, First Solar FSLR, JinkoSolar JKS and Vestas Wind Systems VWDRY to your portfolio to reap the benefits of the booming renewable energy and energy storage space.

Ready to uncover more transformative thematic investment ideas? Explore 36 cutting-edge investment themes with Zacks Thematic Investing Screens and discover your next big opportunity.

Canadian Solar is a leading manufacturer of solar photovoltaic modules and a provider of solar energy and battery energy storage solutions. It enjoys a well-established presence in diverse nations across the globe, ranging from the United States, China, Japan, the U.K., and Canada, to the emerging markets of Brazil, India, Mexico, Italy, Germany, South Africa and the Middle East.

The company boasts a strong pipeline of solar and battery energy storage projects. Notably, as of Sept. 30, 2025, CSIQ’s total solar project development pipeline was 27.1 Gigawatt-power (GWp), including 2 GWp under construction and 3.4 GWp in backlog, as well as 19.7 GWp in the advanced and earlier-stage pipeline.

As of the same date, the company’s battery storage project development pipeline was 80.6 Gigawatt-hour (GWh), including 1 GWh under construction, 5.4 GWh in the backlog, as well as 74.1 GWh of projects in advanced and early-stage pipelines.

These trends underscore Canadian Solar’s steadily expanding footprint in the solar and energy storage market and, in turn, in the global renewables industry.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock’s 2026 sales implies year-over-year growth of 36.8%.

First Solar is the largest PV solar module manufacturer in the Western Hemisphere. The company is a leading global provider of comprehensive photovoltaic (PV) solar energy solutions and specializes in designing, manufacturing, and selling solar electric power modules using a proprietary thin-film semiconductor technology. With a strong global footprint, First Solar enjoys a solid presence in the United States, India, Malaysia and Vietnam.

The company manufactured 3.6 gigawatts (GW) in the third quarter of 2025 and sold a record 5.3 GW of solar modules. Its total installed nameplate production capacity across all its facilities was approximately 23.5 GW as of Sept. 30, 2025.

As of Sept. 30, 2025, FSLR entered into contracts with customers for the future sale of 53.7 GW of solar modules for an aggregate transaction price of $16.4 billion, which it expects to recognize as revenues through 2030.

Such a solid contract pipeline should further strengthen this Zacks Rank #2 stock’s footprint in the renewable energy industry, amid the growth trends.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FSLR’s 2026 sales implies year-over-year growth of 22.5%. The stock boasts a long-term (three-to-five years) earnings growth rate of 35%.

JinkoSolar is a solar technology provider, excelling in integrated research, development, and manufacturing of photovoltaic and energy storage products. It serves nearly 200 countries, with 10 globalized manufacturing bases. In November 2025, the company claimed to have become the first module manufacturer in the world to have delivered a total of 370 GW of solar modules, with total cumulative shipments of Tiger Neo series surpassing 200 GW, the best-selling module series in history. In energy storage, JKS currently has 12 GWh of pack capacity and 5 GWh of battery cell capacity, and focuses on high-margin overseas markets, particularly utility-scale and industrial and commercial projects.

JKS’ total module shipments for the third quarter were approximately 20GW, with over 65% shipped to overseas markets. In the first three quarters of 2025, JinkoSolar’s cumulative energy storage systems (ESS) shipments exceeded 3.3 GWh.

These announcements imply JinkoSolar’s well-established footprint in the global renewable energy and storage industries worldwide.
Per the Zacks Consensus Estimate, this Zacks Rank #2 company will witness a 16.3% year-over-year rise in 2026 sales. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Vestas Wind Systems specializes in designing, manufacturing, installing, and servicing wind turbines for onshore and offshore projects. By the end of September 2025, Vestas had installed a total capacity of 197 GW in 88 countries. Moreover, the company had around 56,700 wind turbines under service, equivalent to 159 GW as of Sept. 30, 2025.

At the end of the third quarter of 2025, the company’s wind turbine order backlog amounted to 29,411 MW, which corresponds to a value of approximately $36.92 billion, of which nearly $11.57 billion relates to Offshore wind power projects. In the third quarter, Vestas’ pipeline of development projects amounted to 26.9 GW, with Australia, the United States, and Brazil being the countries with the largest project pipelines.

These statistics underscore Vestas’ steadily expanding footprint in the wind energy market, a vital forerunner of the global renewables growth.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for this Zacks Rank #2 stock’s 2026 sales implies year-over-year growth of 14.1%. The stock boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 40.8%.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

Partisan differences leave Pa. energy advocates skeptical

Renewable energy and protecting the ocean | D+C

Top 10: Renewable Energy Companies

Dow 30’s Record High Causes a Sentiment Shift

Meta’s Threads tests basketball game inside chats

Ethereum vs Solana: Who Really Won 2025 Across DeFi, Users, and Institutions