FX.co ★ Top 5 profitable investments in alternative energy

Most experienced and successful investors have long made bets on "green" energy. At present, investments in the sphere of alternative energy demonstrate truly fantastic growth. Experts believe that it is not too late to add shares of companies in this sector to your portfolio, and they propose to consider five promising bidders.

First Solar is an international alternative energy firm specializing in solar energy. It manufactures solar modules for the solar industry, and it develops complete solar projects for utilities, power companies, and commercial entities. First Solar doesn't afraid of market fluctuations: the company has a good balance sheet ($1.5 billion in highly liquid assets and $321 million of debt for the second quarter of this year). According to experts, this year the company expects a return to profit, which will be from $1.55 to $2.20 per share.

General Electrics is a world-class electrical appliance manufacturer. At the same time, the company's success in the field of wind energy is also impressive. Last year, GE was the second in the list of the world's best manufacturers of wind turbines. One of the important projects of the company - Current - covers the so-called "Internet of things", and also successfully solves problems in the field of alternative energy. In 2017, GE said that Current accounts for $13 million operating profit.

Investors planning to invest in wind energy can purchase shares of Vestas Wind Systems. In 2016, the company became the leading manufacturer of wind turbines. The growth rates of its revenue are consistently high. In order to increase the shareholder value, Vestas plans to buy back shares worth about 600 million euro by the end of the year. Vestas Wind Systems also practices the payment of dividends, distributing 25-30% of net profit among investors.

One of the companies of the "green" sector, Ormat Technologies, has chosen an unusual direction for itself. It is considered to be the only vertically integrated geothermal company. Ormat Technologies has been operating in the clean energy market for over half a century. The total volume of its assets is huge, annual revenue has been increasing since 2010. This year, the company's revenue will increase by 4%. As for the growth in EBITDA, from 2012 to 2016 it soared by 73%.

Covanta is engaged in an important business - developing solutions for waste disposal, that is, making our planet cleaner. It makes good money on this. Investors expect a dividend yield of 7.30%, which is considered an excellent indicator. Covanta works with different technologies, spending the most time on generating electricity - 10 million MW per year. About 85% of its revenue is given by long-term contracts, due to which it has a stable cash flow and an excellent planning horizon. According to analysts' forecasts, Covanta expects the growth of adjusted EBITDA by 3-5% per year.