Clean Energy’s Wild Ride

Two decades ago, ROBERT WILDER quit a comfy job teaching environmental sciences to bet on exotic fuels. He might make you rich—if you can handle the risk.

By William Baldwin

Robert Wilder, 62: author, lecturer, organic gardener, tree hugger. Something of a hippie? No, this ecologist is a financier, with a sharp eye for how to turn environmentalism into a business. Wilder is the owner of the stock index that dictates the portfolio of Invesco WilderHill Clean Energy. The exchange-traded fund holds $930 million worth of shares in 82 companies betting on the transition away from carbon. They make things like charging stations, windmill blades and parts for renewable-energy grids. “Speculative” is an understatement for these outfits, most of them in the red. Will Energy Vault ever be able to economically store energy by lifting giant blocks? There are skeptics. Investors would be hard pressed to find a wilder ride among investment companies. In 2020, the fund was up 206%. Since then…

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Forbes (Digital) - 1 Issue, December/January 2023

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