A New Era of Clean Energy Investment
The intersection of artificial intelligence data centers, fractured energy security, and a wave of electrification has created a perfect storm for clean energy infrastructure. This convergence is driving a surge in investment in the sector, with global clean energy investment reaching a record $2.3 trillion in 2025, an 8% increase year-over-year.
Kyle Kleckner, senior investment analyst at SS&C ALPS Advisors, highlighted the significance of this trend during a recent webinar hosted by Cinthia Murphy, director of research at VettaFi. Kleckner noted that the era of stagnant U.S. electricity demand is behind us, and that data centers, electrified transport, heating, and reshored manufacturing are now the driving forces behind electricity demand.
The data center industry is a key contributor to this trend, with hyperscaler capital expenditure estimates jumping from roughly $300 billion a year in early 2025 to $1 trillion annually today. Jerimiah Booream, managing director and senior investment analyst at CIBC Private Wealth, noted that data centers are expected to consume approximately 10% of U.S. electricity by 2030, a significant increase from their current low-to-mid single-digit market share.
This increased demand is driving investment in clean energy infrastructure, with solar, batteries, and wind making up the bulk of near-term capacity additions. Renewable developers have been the most active participants in a multiyear grid interconnection queue, with battery storage scaling up to stabilize a grid facing more variable generation and sharper demand swings.
The scramble for domestic battery and grid capacity is unfolding against a backdrop of renewed geopolitical risk, with conflict in the Middle East and the Strait of Hormuz back in the risk conversation. Energy security now means generating and storing power domestically, rather than relying on imports, according to Kleckner.
SS&C ALPS Advisors built the ALPS Clean Energy ETF (ACES) around this shift, targeting U.S. and Canadian companies across seven segments including solar, wind, storage, grid technology, and electric vehicles. Each company must draw more than half its value from clean energy and already generate commercial revenue, ruling out speculative, pre-revenue ventures.
The fund’s index includes companies such as SOLV Energy (MWH), a recent IPO that builds solar and battery storage systems and ranks as the second-largest provider of those services in the U.S. Its margins have expanded as project demand has climbed, according to Booream.
