NextEra beats quarterly profit estimates on clean energy demand

(Reuters) - Top U.S. renewable power producer NextEra Energy Inc beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly profit on Wednesday, helped by sustained demand for alternative energy on the back of a global push for transition to cleaner energy sources.

The push gained fresh urgency last year after sanctions on major energy producer and exporter Russia, following its invasion of Ukraine, sent crude and natural gas prices soaring.

Clean energy companies also stand to gain from the Inflation Reduction Act, a multi-billion climate spending bill that incentivizes measures to shift consumers to green energy and reduce carbon emissions.

"In the midst of a challenging macro environment, we invested more than $19 billion in American energy infrastructure and commissioned roughly 5,000 megawatts of new renewables and storage," said John Ketchum, chief executive officer of NextEra.

Excluding items, the company's adjusted income stood at 51 cents per share, for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with analysts' estimate of 49 cents per share, according to Refinitiv data.

(Reporting by Arunima Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)