The election last night of Barack Obama to the White House has many green investors cheering, but their elation may be short-lived. For one, the ROI of alternative energy is still pegged to the price of fossil fuels. Second, environmentalists may find themselves at cross-purposes with one faction leading the charge for a greener grid while the other seeks to protect endangered species and offshore territory from solar arrays and wind farms.

Incoming president Barack Obama is expected to increase spending and provide new incentives to develop alternative energy. This provides a great opportunity for investors, says Sara Nunnally. She expects international companies like Acciona SA (MCE:ANA) from Spain to play a major role in expanding clean energy in the US.

Tom Bulford says clean technology could become the “next big sector”. A growing awareness of environmental problems means huge investment in the industry over the coming years. And that means plenty of exciting start-up opportunities…

How will the stock markets respond to a new US president? Martin Delholm says the impact will be less than some people expect. But some sectors will benefit from a regime change. With Obama the clear favourite to win, Martin recommends three clean energy stocks likely to gain from new subsidies.

When the UPA Government first came in, great hopes were placed on a well educated, sensible, triumvirate of Finance Minister, P Chidambaram, educated at Harvard, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, (Cambridge and Oxford) and Planning Commission Chairman, Montek Singh, (Oxford).

Soaring oil prices have led to such a boom for solar power that the industry could operate without subsidies in just a few years.

According to The Guardian newspaper, there’s growing confidence that so-called “grid parity”, the holy grail of the industry — whereby solar power can be produced as cheaply as it bought from the grid — is close at hand.

“The [US]  government recently incentivized production of ethanol, biofuel, and solar technology,” says Charles Delvalle in Investor’s Daily Edge.

The British government gave a huge boost to wind energy stocks this week, opening bidding for offers to build up to 25 gigawatts of offshore wind turbines by 2020 — triple the amount previously planned.

The European Union has set a target date of 2020 for 20% of its energy to come from renewable sources. The British Wind Energy Association said Britain will contribute 15%, meaning up to 40% of the country’s power will come from wind energy by the target date.

“The richest investment opportunities can be found in the fast-emerging alternative energy sector,” says Mike Burnick in The Offshore A-Letter.

Last week I promised that I’d go over some promising sectors in the green market. But the past two articles on the topic generated some important feedback that I’d like to go over with you today.

Has there been a better time to consider alternative energy investments? Today, crude oil prices jumped $6 to reach $134 after the Israeli transport minister said an attack on Iranian nuclear sites looked “unavoidable.”

Thomson Reuters reports that, according to the National Venture Capital Association, the alternative energy investments sector boasts the highest growth in venture capital investments in the last five years.

Big bucks are also flowing in from US pension funds into an array of alternative energy investments, stoking concerns of a possible bubble.

Nuclear energy is back on the agenda in Britain – and uranium stocks will feel the benefit. The BBC reports that up to 14 new power plants could be commissioned, while 23 existing plants are to be replaced.

In Taipan Daily, Irwin Greenstein examines another country looking to uranium as a source of clean energy, with potentially significant implications for the market: