The infrastructure bill earmarks billions in funding for clean energy — These stocks could benefit

Published Sat, Aug 14 20218:12 AM EDT

The infrastructure bill that the Senate passed earlier this week earmarks billions of dollars to build out the nation's clean energy network, which could lift the share price of companies working towards a greener future. The package that the Senate greenlit is significantly pared down from what President Joe Biden first announced in March, but some of the measures left out of the latest iteration of the bill could be included in the spending plan. The Senate on Wednesday approved a budget resolution, which is the initial step toward Democrats passing a $3.5 trillion spending plan. Still, what's in the current infrastructure bill will have impacts across the clean tech universe, which pledges $550 billion in new spending. Power infrastructure and the electrical grid is one key area of spending, with at least $65 billion pegged for spending around the nation's grid. This is "the single largest investment in clean energy transmission in American history," according to the bill's fact sheet. The funding would create the Grid Deployment Authority, invest in research and development for advanced transmission, and promote smart grid technologies, among other things. Research firm Strategas noted that names exposed to this theme include electrical solution companies like Quanta , Wesco and NV5 , as well as grid management company Itron . Washington-based Itron helps utilities manage, analyze and understand water and power use. As fires rage in the Western U.S. the company has helped utilities harden and upgrade their infrastructure, both to reduce the risk of sparking a fire, as well as to limit and localize power shut-offs when absolutely necessary. "While the bill calls for significant grid based investments, we believe the commitment to electric transmission represents the most important aspect, given the crucial role in enabling broader renewables developments," JPMorgan wrote in a recent note to clients. Stocks exposed to the renewable energy theme include First Solar , which is the largest U.S.-based solar panel producer. Manufacturer Maxeon could also see a lift, as could energy management names like Enphase Energy and SolarEdge . Orsted , Vestas and General Electric operate within the wind power ecosystem, while utilities like NextEra Energy are building out grid-scale renewable energy resources. The bill also earmarks $7.5 billion for electric vehicle charging, which would include a national charging network. Earlier this month President Joe Biden signed an executive order calling for electric vehicles to make up 50% of new car sales by 2030. ChargePoint Holdings , Beam Global and Blink Charging are working on electric vehicle charging. The bill also specifies funding for electric mass-transit, with $2.5 billion each going to zero-emission buses, low-emission buses and ferries. Companies exposed to this theme include Proterra , Plug power and Blue Bird . Other areas that receive funding in the bill include carbon capture and hydrogen. For investors looking for broad exposure to the energy transition theme, some exchange-traded funds that track the space include ALPS Clean Energy ETF , iShares Global Clean Energy ETF and Invesco WilderHill Clean Energy ETF . - CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed reporting.

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