Credit Suisse Global Alternative Energy Index – This index treats alternative energy as a “diversified technology,” according to Credit Suisse, which describes itself as one of the world’s leading banks. The index’s 30 components feature some of the largest alternative energy companies in the world and include firms involved in subsectors such as wind, solar and biofuels.

HamiltonClark EnergyTech Index – From the U.S. investment bank Hamilton Clark & Co., this index includes nearly 70 companies broken down into five broad categories. The first is power generation, power quality, controls and storage. The second is clean technologies. The third is called energy efficiency, information and optimization. The fourth is renewable energy and the fifth is exploration and production technologies.

ISE-CCM Alternative Energy Index – Developed jointly by Cronus Capital Markets and the International Securities Exchange (ISE), this index tracks alternative energy companies involved in geothermal, fuel cells, hydropower, solar, wind and more. The index includes some major U.S. electric utilities.

Jefferies Global Clean Composite Technology Index – From the investment banking firm Jefferies & Company Inc., this is a composite index of what Jefferies describes as nearly 60 leading small- and mid-cap companies engaged in clean technology and alternative energy worldwide. Jefferies also has sub-indices that track firms focused on energy generation, energy storage and industrial biotechnology.

Ludlow Energy Small Cap Alternative Energy Index – This index, from Ludlow Capital Inc., includes approximately 45 U.S.-traded small cap stocks involved in alternative energy. The index includes companies working in biofuels, batteries, fuel cells, solar, wind and more.

Merrill Lynch Renewable Energy Index – Merrill Lynch says it launched this index to provide exposure to stocks that are well positioned to benefit from themes of alternative and renewable energy. The index’s components represent both pure-plays and more diversified firms working generally in biofuels, solar and wind.

Merriman Next-Generation Energy Index – From Merriman Curhan Ford & Co., a subsidiary of MCF Corp., this index tracks 30 U.S.-listed small- and medium-cap companies in five broad areas: alternative fuels, energy storage, environmental technology, fuel cells and solar power.

Societe Generale World Alternative Energy Total Return Index – According to Societe Generale, this index includes 20 of the world’s largest companies operating in the fields of renewable energy, energy efficiency and decentralized energy supply. Individual companies are involved in fuel cells, superconductivity, hydropower, electric metering and more.

S&P Global Clean Energy Index – From Standard & Poors, the ratings agency, this index includes 30 large companies from a number of countries that are what S&P calls clean energy producers and clean energy technology and equipment providers. The index includes a number of firms involved in wind and solar.

UBS Diapason Global Biofuel Index – UBS calls this index the world’s first biofuels index. Launched by UBS Investment Bank and Diapson Commodities, the index replicates the worldwide production of materials required for biofuel extraction. The weighting of the different materials – corn, sugar, soybean oil, and so on – reflect both the importance of these materials in biofuel production and the liquidity of the underlying futures contracts.

Wilderhill New Energy Global Innovation Index– This index tracks companies that concentrate on renewable energy technologies and processes, with an emphasis on clean power and energy efficiency (the latter including both storage and demand-side management). Unlike many other alternative energy indices where the components must be U.S. firms, this index includes companies from many of the hotspots of alternative energy, including Germany, Spain and Brazil.