RETIRE.FUND: Green energy

Showing posts with label Green energy. Show all posts

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Lithium demand will increase four fold by 2017

In these pages, I have written a number of articles about the coming lithium boom, the electric vehicle battery market, and the companies who are either mining lithium at present, or are rushing to become new producers of what has become known as the Èlectric Metal. In point of fact, lithium is becoming one of the few truly bull markets for savvy investors today.

Why carbon recycling will help power the future of energy!

by Byron Elton, President and Chief Operating Officer, Carbon Sciences Inc.

In the 1970s the late Dr. Lewis Thomas published an influential essay that has become a scientific classic. In it, he described three types of medical technologies - non-technologies, which are caring and supportive; halfway technologies, which are expensive, risky and not especially effective; and decisive technologies, which are inexpensive, easy to deliver and solve the underlying problem
.
A “halfway” technology for polio, for instance, was the iron lung; a cylindrical steel chamber that allowed patients whose respiratory muscles had been paralyzed by the disease to breathe, while a “decisive” technology was the polio vaccine.

The smoke is clearing over Copenhagen and the COP15 Green Energy Summit!

Image by TailspinT via Flickr

The world leaders who will meet in Copenhagen next week for COP15 (United nations Climate Change Conference) or what is billed as the Green Energy summit, have now all committed to at least some reduction in carbon emissions over the next decade. The United States, who virtually ignored the Kyoto Accord under President George W. Bush, is actually leading the push for carbon reduction this time as President Obama has already pledged a 17% reduction by 2020.

China followed suit with a pledge of their own and even India, albeit with a much smaller promise, is on board. Canada will follow the U.S. (it really has no choice) and Europe has already done more than all of the above in the push for carbon reduction in our atmosphere and the Green Energy revolution which is supremely evident as you take the Euro train from Hamburg to Berlin and pass literally thousands of wind turbines churning out power along the way.

Companies that have completely embraced carbon reduction and the concept of green or renewable energy which is non polluting (or at least carbon reducing) have gained significantly this year and stand to profit immensely in the coming years. Some of these companies resemble those who embraced the information revolution in the early 70's (Microsoft, Apple etc)
or the web revolution ten years ago (Google, Yahoo etc)

It is my humble opinion that this Green Energy revolution has the potential to top those previous market movers as the planet begins the long, arduous road to cleaning itself of carbon pollution. Soon photo's like the one pictured here, of a fuel cell a powered airplane, will be commonplace. Wind, Solar, Fuel Cells, these are the winners and the future of energy for the next ten years. The losers will be coal, corn ethanol, biomass and oil. Nuclear energy, while still being debated as an also ran, has the potential to be eliminated entirely by fuel cell power plants burning, at first, natural gas (which has an abundant supply of hydrogen and produces less pollution) and finally, pure hydrogen, once the storage issue is resolved (and it will be).

If you are not on this green energy bandwagon right now, then what are you waiting for? It will not only change the way the world powers itself, but also the way the world invests in energy. There will be big winners and big losers. Where do you want to be positioned as COP15 approaches and green energy, once again, enters the world spot light.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

The Green Energy Revolutions biggest Month - December 2009 - Profiting from Clean Energy in 2010

Image by pshab via Flickr

President Obama is going to Copenhagen and the COP15 summit with a solid promise of Carbon reduction.

No it's not drastic, but it is far and away more than any previous administration in the United States have ever committed to. A 17% reduction in CO2 levels by 2020, below the 2005 level. It's not Kyoto, but it is a solid commitment, and when the USA leads, everyone else is bound to follow. Even China, who has taken over the title as worlds biggest polluter this year (from the USA) is catching the drift with some promises of Carbon reducing policies of it's own.

Canada's Prime Minister as well as many other world leaders will also be in attendance at Copenhagen. Now you must ask yourself, what affect will this have on my Retirefund?

In a nutshell, it is a complete game changer and will have a huge affect on investments all over the world. If these leaders come to an agreement, no matter how small, on reducing their carbon footprint on this planet, it is the beginning of the end for some companies and industries and it is the beginning of great wealth and prosperity for other companies who embrace the Green Energy revolution that is just beginning. The COP15 summit is the catalyst which puts this revolution into overdrive. That's how much of a game changer it is.

At this writing, California is legislating that fully 20% of all energy produced in the State beginning in 2010, must come from renewable resources. Federally in the U.S., there is a strong movement to legislate a similar law for the entire Country of 15% of total energy being produced by renewable resources beyond 2010. Billions of dollars are in play. Wind and Solar companies are springing up like the oil derricks of the 1890's. The "hydrogen highway" is being built in California. Hydrogen fuel cells burning, at first, natural gas and eventually pure hydrogen, will eventually play the major part in the greening of our planet. This is no time to be a wallflower. If you are not invested in the green revolution, you will merely be a spectator in the game, which will be the greatest wealth building era since the industrial revolution.

Make no mistake (as President Obama likes to say) This is a game changer. If you are invested in coal energy, you should probably get out now! If you are invested in pure oil plays you still have some time. If you are piling your money into Wind and Solar companies, you should maybe take a double check on that. They will eventually only be bit players in this great game but they will gain significantly in the short to medium term. Hydrogen is the future of energy, no matter how you look at it, and Natural gas is a great store of hydrogen for fuel cells, which have the greatest potential to produce the most wealth. PEM fuel cells can be stacked and therefore, can produce energy at the back up generator level, and at the giant energy plant level. They have the capacity to actually replace large oil fired, coal fired, and even nuclear power plants.

There will be flashes in the pan, so to speak, of ideas that, at first seem like solutions, but that will peter out like a late night camp fire. Clean coal (an oxymoron - as there is no such thing as clean coal) is the obvious one. Corn ethanol is another. It produces at least the same or even more carbon in it's production, than it saves by it's use as a gasoline additive.

"Could be the largest economic opportunity of the 21st century."
- Venture Capital Firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers

Do your homework and do it well before you invest, but don't sit on the sidelines of this great race. As Wayne Gretzky once said, "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take"!

Our top pick:
Ballard Power Systems
BLD-T
BLDP-NASDAQ

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

From Washington to Copenhagen - Measuring the Obama Effect

Image by ~C4Chaos via Flickr

When discussing the upcoming COP-15 Global Environmental conference in Copenhagen, many pundits suggest that there are so many differences of opinion between countries and within various countries, both developed and developing, that the chances for any kind of agreement will be slim to none. I believe these naysayers have completely ignored one of today's most powerful, global phenomena, the Obama Effect.

The United States President is in full court press mode on this subject, as is evidenced by his recent push at the G20 summit and his National Energy Summit which basically lays out how he believes the United States will lead in the Green Energy revolution. He is essentially changing the game that has been played by Business and Government thus far.

Under the Bush administration the whole subject was framed as a battle between business-economy and Government-Environment. Barrack Obama has already re-framed the message as "essential" to economic prosperity. He has re-framed the word "Green" in the American Lexicon into the word "competitive", and those businesses and Governments who ignore this simple marketing message, do so at their own financial peril. So do investors.

As an investor, if you are betting against the Green revolution taking center stage at Copenhagen, then you stand to lose and lose big. A number of major players on Wall Street are already positioning themselves to benefit from this giant green shift in business. Some have even laid out their entire investment horizon over the next 20 years, based solely on the Green revolution in business. It is talked about in terms of other monumental shifts in economic power such as the Industrial revolution and the Information revolution. It will make and break fortunes in the coming years, so if you haven't already, start doing your research.

Companies with first mover status in Wind Energy, Solar Energy, Electric batteries (for autos) and fuel cell power have made jumps between 100% and 150% in just the past 8 months. It is the start of what might become the largest bull market since Microsoft and Apple first emerged as the Information age began. Once the United States lays out it's plan to lead this new economic shift at the Copenhagen summit, other countries will have no choice but to play by the new rules, or be left behind once again as the future of energy will be dictated by the worlds largest and most diversified economy. Look for fossil fuel subsidies to be replaced by green energy subsidies. The shift will be monumental.

Don't miss this great ride which is only just beginning.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Impact of the "Green Revolution" on your Retirefunds!

Image by Damian Kettlewell for Vancouver-False Creek via Flickr

Alvin Toffler, in his insightful work ‘The Third Wave’, pointed out that humanity has achieved three revolutionary shifts of civilization throughout history. Firstly, the Agricultural Revolution enabled humanity to accumulate much wealth. The Industrial Revolution made possible mass production of industrial products, and The Information Revolution transformed the ways people think, work, and enjoy life.

Now, we are witnessing the newest, most powerful revolution of all time: The “Green Revolution.” It will change the way we power this planet. It will change the way we live, work, travel and more importantly, from an investment point of view, the way we invest. The catalyst for these massive changes may be the COP 15 Climate Change meeting in Copenhagen on Dec 7th 2009.

Make no mistake. This is one of "the" most important international conferences of our lifetime. If agreements can be reached in even some basic areas being discussed, then this meeting will have as much impact on your life as the Industrial revolution had for your great grandfather. Strictly from a monetary point of view, it will dwarf the financial impact of the information revolution of the 20th century. We are already seeing major investment houses moving into the green energy sector in a big way.

This year, Wind and Solar companies have posted significant increases in their stock prices. So how can you benefit from this monumental shift in investment strategy when any company with even a chance to advance in this industry is making investors money? PEM fuel cells, that's where! Fuel cells burning, at first, natural gas, and eventually pure hydrogen. This the future of energy on this planet. Wind and Solar will be "bit players" in comparison!

For over 20 years a Canadian company has been developing PEM fuel cell technology and this year it began shipping various product to buyers in the U.S., Canada, India, Europe and soon China. This company is so entrenched in this industry that it holds hundreds of the original patents for the underlying technology and has spawned from it's ranks, other companies with offshoot technologies. Three of them are, Fuel Cell Technologies, Plug Power and Hydrogenics. They are often referred to as "Baby Ballards" after the original fuel cell champion, Ballard Power systems of Vancouver, British Columbia.

After Chrysler and Ford bought into Ballard in a big way, about 7 years ago, investors took notice and drove up the stock. Since then, because of the slow pace of the "Auto" part of the technology, investors lost interest and the stock price dove below $2.00 after Ballard sold off it's "Auto" technology to these industry players.

Investors have short attention spans, don't they? Sometimes I wonder if investors can see the big picture at all. Most are simply traders, and not investors. At this time in history, Ballard Power is a "diamond" in the rough of the green energy revolution, and investors who are paying attention stand to increase their wealth tremendously.

It is not in the auto industry that this company will dominate. It is in clean energy production in general, replacing major power plants with giant fuel cell stacks burning, at first, Natural Gas and eventually pure Hydrogen. It is in the propulsion systems of buses, forklifts, ships and trains that Ballard will eventually make it's very big mark in the Green Energy Space. It is also in back up power generation like that recently shipped to India for their wireless systems. 310 fuel cell generators are being shipped to India by Dec 31st. It is the start of an order for 10,000 fuel cell generators to one of the most dynamic growing economies on the planet. This contract alone could end up being 30,000 generators, and that is only "one part" of Ballard's expertise.

Hydrogen fuel cell cars? Possibly! Electric cars? possibly! Even if electric cars win out, where will the electrical power come from. It will come from power plants incorporating giant fuel cell stacks, manufactured by Ballard Power Systems, and replacing dirty Coal, Oil and even Nuclear plants.

Green energy is not the only green that will be produced by this sleeping tech giant. I have owned Ballard for over 9 years, and this year, because of their production in these areas, I increased my holdings tenfold. My money is where my mouth is, where is yours?

Read more: Future of Energy

Oct 28-09 The Obama Effect

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