Blown away

NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE) has been one of the most unique growth stories in the renewable energy arena. As a regulated utility, NextEra features the rare combination of growth from new investments and predictable inflows from existing infrastructure that support its dividend. This balance has allowed NextEra to allocate as much as $28 billion toward new projects between 2019 and 2022. NextEra’s leading renewables portfolio is the result of over 20 years of investments. But the company has been ramping up renewable spending even more over the past few years. In the third quarter, it added a record 2.2 gigawatts (GW) of signed contracts to its renewables backlog (1.44 GW of net new additions). This brings its total renewable backlog to over 15 GW, which is more than its entire existing renewable portfolio. Wind energy is NextEra’s largest renewable investment. As of the third quarter, new wind energy projects and wind repowering (updating old wind farms) accounted for 80 percent of 2019 to 2020 renewable contracts. NextEra Energy is one of the safest ways to invest in wind energy. As an established utility, it has the funds to invest in largescale regulated renewable energy investments that should return a steady stream of free cash flow. The company’s dividend recently yielded 1.9 percent, and it has been increased for 26 consecutive years.