HOW TO PLAY IT

If you want exposure to exotic and iffy alternativeenergy schemes, either of Invesco’s WilderHill funds will serve. But perhaps established companies are more to your liking. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile is making good money extracting lithium from brine ponds. Canadian Solar, based in Ontario, sources photovoltaic equipment in China and installs it around the globe. NextEra Energy Partners, a sister to Florida Power & Light, owns solar and wind farms. All three of these outfits have enterprise values (net debt plus value of common shares) between 10 and 20 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. That’s not unreasonable, given where energy is going.