The clean energy sector has generally outperformed the broader stock index, with the benchmark S&P Global Clean Energy Transition Index returning 63% over the past year. That easily outpaced the S&P 500, which is up 15.5% over the same timeframe.

Yet clean and green stocks face some serious headway for the rest of 2026, and the wear and tear is already starting to show. The S&P Clean Energy Index has been treading water over the past month, and select sector stocks have landed in the ‘tepid’ category, as well.

The problem is multi-tiered, with companies increasingly pulling away from green energy initiatives and the federal government, under President Donald Trump, taking steps to uncouple from clean climate funding.

Perhaps the biggest factor is Team Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, enacted last year and loaded with green disincentives on key issues like wind and solar investments, and favoring traditional energy sources like oil, gas, and even coal.

Deloitte sums up the clean energy sector’s challenge in a recent research paper.

“The new tax law, commonly referred to as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, rolled back many clean energy tax credits and imposed new restrictions, pressuring early-stage wind and solar pipelines,” the report noted. “Wind and solar investments in the first half of 2025 fell 18%, to nearly US$35 billion (prior to the enactment of this act), compared to the same period in 2024.”

Deloitte added that green-energy solar phaseouts will increase solar program costs, rising from 36% in 2025 to 55% in 2026. The same goes for wind energy, where prices will skyrocket from 32% last year to 55% this year. A big hope for clean energy is that burgeoning data center energy demand aims to balance out other industry funding headaches at least through the first half of 2026, when older clean energy initiatives are still in play, before the OBBB legislation takes effect.

Three Energy Stocks to Sell in 2026

With more encouragement in the short-term and big questions for the long haul, it’s a good time to shake out the dust from the climate side of your investment portfolio. That doesn’t mean a clean-out of your green energy plays is totally off, but it does mean pruning waste during an industry slide with no agreed-upon recovery time.

These three clean energy stocks should top that “got to go” sell list.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Trading at $193 in early March and already down -23.50% year-to-date, Phoenix-based First Solar, the largest U.S.-based solar panel manufacturer, has recently seen its share price slide after issuing a 2026 net sales outlook that fell well below analyst expectations. The company saw a 14% decline in earnings in its most recent quarter. A gigawatt backlog slide, from 68.1 GW’s 50 50.1 GE’s from January, 2025 through December, 2025, has particularly hit First Solar hard, especially given the energy firm’s demand backlogs have slid for seven consecutive quarters.

Such “near-term negatives”, as Raymond James sector analyst Bobby Zolper noted, aren’t inspiring investment confidence. Morgan Stanley and Barclays have both followed suit, with target price reductions of $275 to $230 and $279 to $228, respectively.

Investors who bought First Solar for its clean-energy growth story may find that short-term catalysts are reducing the odds of significant market gains. With federal support for solar projects in flux and permitting hurdles rising, near-term earnings may be under pressure, creating a window to exit positions before further downside. With Uncle Sam’s support for solar projects in flux and permitting hurdles rising, near-term earnings may be under pressure, giving smart shareholders a clear window to exit positions before any further portfolio damage.

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Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ:RUN)

Like First Solar, Sunrun is in the firm grip of a share price in free fall, down 34% year to date after an up-and-down earning report where the company’s earnings of 38 cents-per-share beat expectations, yet cash generation slid significantly, from $250 million to $450 million in 2026, from $377 million in 2025.

Sunrun’s struggles underscore a larger challenge for the entire rooftop solar sector. Given the Trump administration’s pivot away from green energy policy incentives and the fact that financing costs rise as consumer demand cools, RUN has a narrow needle to thread. That’s especially the case, as retail solar companies like Sunrun often rely on tax credits, rebates, and clean energy mandates that are quickly thinning out.  

“Although the company affirmed its fiscal year 2025 cash generation target range of $200 to $500 million, the reliance on this projection is undermined by a steep downside valuation that factors in a higher 11% discount rate, which reflects the potential impact of increased capital costs for solar providers,” a Benzinga analysis noted. “Such elements contribute to a negative outlook on Sunrun’s stock, as they suggest challenges in achieving sustainable profitability and adequate cash flow in a competitive market.”

Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG)

This 19-year-old provider of hydrogen and fuel cell systems for the power industry is floundering in early 2026, with a stock price of $1.80, down 8.6% year-to-date and 13.4% over the past month.

The company certainly isn’t standing still, as it’s in the midst of a $275 million infrastructure plan buoyed by a late February sale of its Project Gateway New York site to Stream Data Services for between $132-to-$142 million, which should buy PLUG some time to reboot. Not helping matters is a February 2026 lawsuit alleging misleading statements regarding PLUG’s $1.66 billion Department of Energy loan program

Analysts don’t see any upside for Plug Power going forward, with consensus target prices for the stock hovering around $1.50 per share. Some sector analysts take an even more pessimistic outlook, with RBC Capital’s Chris Dendrinos calling for a -16% downside for PLUG shares while BMO Capital’s Ameet Thakkar calling for a 27.2% share slide in recent research notes.

Benzinga analysts see PLUG landing at about $4 per share and still recommend a Buy call on the stock, but buyer beware.

“High levels of short interest hint at skepticism among investors regarding Plug Power’s ability to provide a consistent and cost-effective hydrogen supply, reflecting broader concerns about the scalability of its technologies amidst an aging U.S. grid infrastructure,” an updated Benzinga analysis noted.

A Pivot Away From Clean Energy Funds May Be In the Cards, Too

The green energy market may trigger so much uncertainty that it may not be only individual stocks at risk right now.

Analysts also note that clean energy ETFs and sector baskets, which own a range of solar, wind, and clean-tech firms, have seen formidable multi-stock selloffs amid policy from the White House. They also face downside economic risks, including tariff pressures and reduced consumer and commercial demand for solar and wind products, in particular.  

Consequently, if you’re not inclined to shed individual sector stocks, industry ETFs like Invesco Solar (NYSE:TAN) and other renewable-focused funds can provide a solid profit-taking or rebalancing exposure opportunity to mitigate near-term (mostly political) risk in the green energy market.

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