Spanish Wind Firm Cleared to Buy Energy East

In recent years, Iberdrola has aggressively expanded into the United States. In May, the company said it would invest $8 billion in renewable energy in the United States from 2008 to 2010, doubling its wind-energy capacity.

By the end of the first quarter of 2008, Iberdrola's U.S. wind farms totaled a capacity of 2.4 gigawatts. The company said it planned to increase the capacity to 3.6 gigawatts by the end of this year.

Editor's note: Do you to need to expose your investment portfolio to wind industry growth, but don't know where to start?

In "How to Outperform the Market and Manage Risk With ETFs," Scott Rothbort writes that you can use an industry-specific exchange-traded fund (ETF) as a "placeholder" as you do the necessary homework on individual stocks. The First Trust ISE Global Wind Energy Index Fund (FAN Quote) and the PowerShares Global Wind Energy Portfolio (PWND Quote) are two wind-focused ETFs.

Iberdrola (as covered in this article) is one of the top individual stock holdings in the PowerShares wind ETF.

To hear about the First Trust wind ETF from Robert Carey, chief investment officer at First Trust, play the video below:

For more information about how to invest in wind, read "All You Need to Know About Wind Energy."

Plus, on MainStreet, don't miss "How To Decide if Wind Power Is Right for You."