Clean energy exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are investment funds focused on holding the shares of companies investing in cleaner and alternative energy sources, such as wind, solar, hydrogen, battery storage, and electric vehicles (EVs). These companies will be major beneficiaries of growth in clean energy investment. Global clean energy investment needs to reach $4.5 trillion per year by 2030, more than double the 2023 total of $1.8 trillion.
The forecast suggests that governments and other entities need to significantly boost their investments in clean energy. As a result, companies focused on green energy should prosper as more investment flows into the sector over the coming years.
But investors often face a dilemma when assessing a long-term investment trend. They must decide how best to position their portfolio to profit from the upside potential. They could choose to invest in a specific alternative energy stock. However, they risk being right about the investment thesis (clean energy investment will rise) but putting money into a company that underperforms the sector over the long term.
A potential solution to this problem is to invest in an exchange-traded fund (ETF) focused on clean energy. An ETF reduces the risk of being right on the thesis but picking the wrong stock.
Seven top clean energy ETFs
Many ETFs focus on clean energy these days, given the amount of money flowing into the sector. Some take a broad approach by investing across the entire industry, while others focus on a single aspect of green energy investing. The different approaches give investors lots of ways to use ETFs to invest in clean energy.
Here's a list of seven of the top ETFs concentrating on various aspects of the clean energy sector:
Top Clean Energy ETFs | Ticker Symbol | Assets Under Management (AUM) |
|---|---|---|
iShares Global Clean Energy ETF | $1.9 billion | |
First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Index Fund | $560.9 million | |
Invesco Solar ETF | $934.8 million | |
Invesco WilderHill Clean Energy ETF | $622.6 million | |
ALPS Clean Energy ETF | $115.9 million | |
First Trust NASDAQ Clean Energy Smart Grid Infrastructure Index | $4.7 billion | |
First Trust Global Wind Energy ETF | $189.8 million |
Here's a closer look at these top clean energy ETFs:
1. iShares Global Clean Energy ETF
NASDAQ: ICLN
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2. First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Index Fund
NASDAQ: QCLN
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The First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Index Fund focuses on clean energy companies that trade on major U.S. stock exchanges. It holds companies that manufacture, develop, distribute, and install clean energy technologies, such as solar, wind, battery storage, fuel cells, and electric vehicles (EVs).
The ETF held almost 50 companies in late 2025, led by the following five:
- First Solar: 9.4%
- Tesla (TSLA -1.02%): 8.6%
- Rivian Automotive (RIVN -6.14%): 7.9%
- Bloom Energy: 6.9%
- ON Semiconductor (ON +1.58%): 6.8%
This ETF also concentrates its investments among its largest holdings. However, it still offers investors diversified exposure to the clean energy sector, but with more of a focus on the electrification of transportation and the energy sector. Its holdings include companies focused on renewable energy equipment (20.9%), automobiles (18.4%), semiconductors (13.8%), alternative electricity (10.7%), specialty machinery (6.9%), diversified chemicals (6.4%), general mining (4.8%), electrical components (4.2%), and electronic components (2.4%).
The fund has a reasonable ETF expense ratio of 0.56%.
3. Invesco Solar ETF
NYSEMKT: TAN
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The Invesco Solar ETF focuses on companies in the solar energy industry. That includes companies that manufacture panels and electrical components and install solar energy systems.
The ETF had almost 30 holdings as of late 2025, led by the following five:
- Nextpower: 11.8%
- First Solar: 11.7%
- Sunrun (RUN +2.13%): 6.5%
- GCL Technology Holdings (GCPEF +0.48%): 4.9%
- Enphase Energy: 4.9%
This ETF's focus on solar enables investors to invest in a basket of the top solar energy stocks. It also offers geographic diversification (fewer than half the fund's holdings are U.S.-listed companies) and some sector diversification (46.1% of its holdings are information technology companies, 27.7% are industrials, 22.8% are utilities, and 3.4% are financials). That means it's an ideal ETF to make a directional bet on the upside of solar energy investment.
The fund charges a reasonable expense ratio of 0.71%.
4. Invesco WilderHill Clean Energy ETF
NYSEMKT: PBW
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NYSEMKT: ACES
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NASDAQ: GRID
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7. First Trust Global Wind Energy ETF
NYSEMKT: FAN
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Related investing topics
Clean energy ETFs offer a broad approach to investing in the sector
These ETFs allow anyone to easily invest in one or more aspects of clean energy. Some focus on a specific type of alternative energy, such as wind power or solar energy, while others offer broader exposure across the entire clean energy investment landscape. That allows investors to target a green energy trend, which should help reduce the risk of picking an underperforming clean energy stock.
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