Recently, President Barack Obama visited a Florida solar-power plant operated by FPL Group (symbol FPL on New York), one of the green stocks we cover in our Wall Street Stock Forecaster newsletter.

The president was there to announce a $200 million U.S. grant to FPL that will help with the green stock’s installation of “smart meters.” Customers can use these meters to cut their power use and save on their electricity bills. The grant is part of the government’s continuing investment in strengthening and upgrading the country’s power grid.

FPL is in a good position to scoop up even more green-power subsidies over the next few years. See below for more on this company’s leading-edge operations.

Obama’s ambitious green energy plan could be a boon to utilities — and investors

Aside from grid improvements, President Obama aims to ensure that 25% of U.S. electricity comes from renewable sources by 2025. The president also wants to make an 80% cut to greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050.

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These programs will result in great opportunities for smart investors in select energy-producing green stocks. These include solar, wind, geothermal and marine-energy stocks.

However, we continue to advise against investing indiscriminately in anything that sounds like a “green stock.” Instead, focus on companies that have a sound base of other operations to offset the added risks involved with investing in alternative energy. FPL Group certainly meets this qualification.

This green stock’s well positioned to benefit from new government investment

FPL Group gets 70% of its revenue from its Florida Power and Light Co. subsidiary, a regulated utility with 4.5 million customers in Florida. But the company is also a leader in wind power. The green stock’s NextEra Energy Resources subsidiary accounts for 25% of the U.S.’s wind-power capacity.

Investing in green-power technologies comes with one overriding drawback. This is the risk that subsidies, like the one FPL just received, will suffer or end as governments struggle to bring their economies out of recession. However, FPL’s subsidies mainly provide a boost to its growth. Its regulated operations provide a continuing source of income. In contrast, many higher-risk green stock speculations will collapse when subsidies end.

We’ll continue to watch how FPL taps into higher green-energy spending and update our buy/sell/hold recommendation as necessary in our Wall Street Stock Forecaster newsletters and hotlines. Click here to learn how you can subscribe for one full year with no risk and no commitment.