Last year was a mediocre one for traditional energy companies and a dismal one for renewable energy stocks. But those fortunes could change in 2024 as the global transition away from fossil fuels continues.

Although there are plenty of differences between fossil fuel companies and those involved in renewable energy, a common bullish theme for both of them this year is a changing interest rate environment, with the Federal Reserve pausing interest rate hikes and perhaps beginning cuts.

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Rising interest rates have been weighing on renewable energy companies that need to borrow money for big infrastructure projects like solar and wind farms. Meanwhile, rising interest rates have slowed global economic growth, a key driver of fossil fuel demand.

Robert Johnson, a finance professor at Creighton University and coauthor of "Invest with the Fed: Maximizing Portfolio Performance by Following Federal Reserve Policy," says that if the central bank does embark on a series of rate decreases in 2024, then energy stocks could do "quite well."

In the book, Johnson and his coauthors found that from 1966 through 2020, energy stocks returned an annualized 14.3% in periods when federal interest rates were falling, 11.6% during times when they were neither rising nor falling, and 7.9% when the Fed was hiking rates.

We asked experts what their outlook is for the energy sector in 2024. Here's what they had to say about renewable energy, natural gas and oil:

Michael Cerasoli, portfolio manager of energy infrastructure strategies at Eagle Global Advisors and portfolio manager of the TrueShares Eagle Global Renewable Energy Income ETF (ticker: RNWZ), is bullish on the renewable energy sector this year as the major headwinds from 2023 dissipate.

"The U.S. Fed now indicating........

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