It seems almost out of line to talk about renewable energy at a time when the political environment in the United States feels, at best, unsettled.

If you make your living trying to forecast politics, you are braver than I am. Politics change quickly, narratives flip overnight, and energy policy rhetoric is often more about winning an argument than keeping the lights on.

If you make your living as an investor, you learn a different discipline. You follow demand. You follow cost curves. You follow capital spending. That is why renewable energy remains an attractive investment theme even when U.S. political headlines suggest otherwise.

The framework I keep coming back to is simple. The best energy policy is "use it all."

We are entering a period where electricity demand is rising structurally, not cyclically. Data centers, artificial intelligence workloads, electrification of transportation, reshoring of manufacturing, and population growth are all pulling on the grid at the same time.

This is not a future problem.

It is happening now. The grid was not built for this level of load growth, and no single energy source can carry it alone.

That is where renewables fit and why dismissing them because of politics misses the bigger picture.

Think of it as the global equivalent of the FDIC or the Federal Reserve for renewable energy data. It is not promotional. It is observational.

According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, the world added 473 gigawatts of renewable power capacity in 2023, representing roughly 86 percent of all new power generation capacity added globally that year. That alone would have been a record.

Then 2024 broke it.

The International Renewable Energy Agency reports that global renewable power capacity increased by approximately 585 gigawatts in 2024, a year-over-year growth rate of more than 15 percent.

That is not a projection or a policy goal. That is steel in the ground, panels installed, turbines erected, and projects connected.

This is where the political debate often diverges from economic reality. Renewable energy has moved past the stage where its growth depends entirely on goodwill or ideology. It is being deployed because it is scalable, increasingly cost-competitive, and fast to build relative to traditional generation.

In many parts of the world, it is simply the cheapest new source of power available.

Looking forward, the growth trajectory remains intact. The International Energy Agency projects that renewables will increase their share of global electricity generation from roughly 30 percent in 2023 to about 46 percent by 2030 under existing policy frameworks. Solar and wind account for the vast majority of that growth.

That projection does not assume perfect politics. It assumes continued demand growth and continued investment.

And the investment is already happening.

Global capital spending tied to the energy transition is now measured in the trillions of dollars annually. Investment in renewable generation, electrified transport, energy storage, and grid infrastructure continues to set records.

Capital does not deploy at that scale unless the economics make sense. Investors across the globe are not betting on ideology. They are betting on load growth and long-duration demand.

Now let us address the concern most U.S. investors raise immediately. Yes, U.S. politics matter. Tax credits can be modified. Permitting can be slowed. Regulatory priorities can shift. All of that can affect timing and sentiment.

But sentiment is not the same thing as cash flow.

Renewables today are part of a system, not a standalone solution. And this is where "use it all" becomes critical. A serious energy policy does not pit renewables against natural gas, nuclear, or other sources. It integrates them. Solar and wind lower the marginal cost of electricity. Natural gas provides dispatchable reliability. Nuclear delivers baseload where it exists. Storage smooths volatility. Transmission ties it together.

That integrated system is what investors should focus on, not political slogans.

The bottom line is this. Electricity demand is rising. The world is adding renewable capacity at a record pace. Independent global data from the International Renewable Energy Agency confirms that renewables are now the dominant source of new power capacity additions. Forecasts from the International Energy Agency show that share continuing to rise through the end of the decade.

Politics can slow things at the margin. They can change who benefits first. They can alter incentives around the edges. What they cannot do is reverse demand growth or repeal physics.

The best energy policy is still "use it all." And the best investment approach is to position around the reality that the grid is being rebuilt, generation is being diversified, and capital spending in energy infrastructure is not going away.

One of the advantages of writing about writing and "Under the Radar" column is that we do not have to chase whatever renewable energy stock happens to be trending on social media this week.

We can slow down, look past the noise, and focus on the companies quietly doing the work of building the next generation of the power grid. Not the story stocks. Not the hype vehicles. The operators. The asset owners. The firms with real projects, real contracts, and real cash flow.

Three names fit that description particularly well right now: Boralex Inc.; Brookfield Renewable Corporation; and Northland Power Inc.

All three sit at the intersection of what I keep coming back to as the only energy policy that actually works: use it all.

The business model is straightforward and, for investors, very attractive.

Build or acquire projects. Lock in long-term contracts. Generate predictable cash flow. Reinvest prudently.

What makes Boralex interesting right now is that management has been explicit about capital discipline. This is not growth at any cost. The company is targeting steady capacity expansion while emphasizing discretionary cash flow growth. Storage is becoming a bigger part of the story, which matters as renewable penetration rises and grids pay more for flexibility and reliability.

Because Boralex trades on the Canadian exchange and the U.S. OTC market, it tends to be overlooked by large institutions and index funds, which can leave valuation gaps for patient investors.

Brookfield Renewable Corp. (NYSE:BEPC)
Brookfield Renewable comes at the same theme from a very different angle.

BEPC is the corporate share class that gives equity investors access to one of the largest renewable power platforms on the planet. Brookfield's renewable portfolio spans hydroelectric assets that have been operating for decades, utility-scale wind and solar, distributed energy, and increasingly, decarbonization and sustainability solutions for large customers.

This is not a one-technology bet. Hydroelectric provides baseload stability. Wind and solar drive growth. Storage and distributed energy add optionality.

 Cash flows are highly contracted, geographically diversified, and supported by Brookfield's balance sheet and capital markets expertise. Management has been clear about its long-term objective: steady distribution growth and mid-teens total returns over a full cycle.

What keeps BEPC under the radar for many renewable investors is its identity. It does not market itself as a flashy clean-tech story. It looks and behaves more like a global infrastructure company.

That is exactly why it belongs in a "use it all" framework.

When renewables scale, the winners are often the platforms that can finance, operate, and optimize assets across cycles, not just the ones that build them.

Offshore wind is a major pillar of the company's growth strategy, with large projects in Europe and Asia, including markets that are moving aggressively to diversify energy supply and harden their grids.

What I like about Northland is that it blends current cash flow with future optionality. In addition to offshore wind, the company operates onshore renewables, solar, battery storage, and even some natural gas and regulated utility assets.

That mix smooths earnings and reduces the risk of relying on any single technology or regulatory regime. The development pipeline is substantial, and offshore wind, despite recent headlines, remains one of the few scalable solutions for dense coastal markets with limited land.

Because Northland trades outside the major U.S. exchanges, it tends to attract less analyst coverage and fewer passive flows. That does not make the business weaker. It simply makes it less crowded.

Taken together, these three companies illustrate why renewable energy investing does not have to be ideological or speculative. Under a "use it all" framework, renewables are not replacing everything else overnight. They are becoming the baseline layer of power generation, lowering average costs while other sources provide reliability and balance.

Boralex offers disciplined growth and storage optionality. Brookfield Renewable provides scale, diversification, and institutional-quality cash flows. Northland Power brings global reach and long-duration development upside.

None of them are headline stocks. None of them rely on perfect politics. All of them are positioned around a simple, unavoidable reality: electricity demand is rising, the grid is being rebuilt, and capital is going to flow toward companies that can execute in the real world, not just tell a good story.

That is exactly where "Under the Radar" opportunities tend to live.