Shares in leading German solar stocks rose substantially on expectations that other big players, including oil groups, are on the prowl in a market that grew to €6.6bn last year and is forecast to top €18bn by 2020.

Germany is by far the world’s biggest solar energy market thanks to its “feed-in” tariffs, which pay a government-guaranteed premium of up to €0.47 a kilowatt hour for power produced by photovoltaic panels. It is expected to continue to grow despite government plans to cut subsidies by 8% or 9% in 2009 and 2010.

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

“That’s where oilman T. Boone Pickens is putting his money – his company Mesa Power just placed an order for US$2 billion in wind turbines. And there’s much more profit potential in other parts of the alternative energy sector too – especially alternative fuel.

“The market for ALL alternative energy sources grew 40% last year alone to US$77.3 billion and will explode into a US$250 billion industry within 10 years.

“Bio-fuel grew to a US$25.4 billion market last with more than 15 billion gallons of ethanol and biodiesel produced globally – more than double the output of just four years ago. The worldwide Bio-fuel industry will continue to enjoy explosive growth for years to come – expanding into a US$81 billion business within the next 10-years!”

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

“That’s where oilman T. Boone Pickens is putting his money – his company Mesa Power just placed an order for US$2 billion in wind turbines. And there’s much more profit potential in other parts of the alternative energy sector too – especially alternative fuel.

“The market for ALL alternative energy sources grew 40% last year alone to US$77.3 billion and will explode into a US$250 billion industry within 10 years.

“Bio-fuel grew to a US$25.4 billion market last with more than 15 billion gallons of ethanol and biodiesel produced globally – more than double the output of just four years ago. The worldwide Bio-fuel industry will continue to enjoy explosive growth for years to come – expanding into a US$81 billion business within the next 10-years!”

“The days of meeting an unchecked demand for energy through monolithic carbon intensive power stations are coming to an end. Increasingly the emphasis will be on energy efficiency, renewables, cleaned up fossil fuel plant and micro generation,” the company said in a statement accompanying its full-year results, according to Britain’s The Guardian newspaper.

SSE, which currently gets 15% of its energy from nuclear suppliers, said it believed “one more tranche of nuclear power stations will be necessary, but that the deployment of such power stations should be minimised through the maximum exploitation of renewable energy sources.”

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

“That’s where oilman T. Boone Pickens is putting his money – his company Mesa Power just placed an order for US$2 billion in wind turbines. And there’s much more profit potential in other parts of the alternative energy sector too – especially alternative fuel.

“The market for ALL alternative energy sources grew 40% last year alone to US$77.3 billion and will explode into a US$250 billion industry within 10 years.

“Bio-fuel grew to a US$25.4 billion market last with more than 15 billion gallons of ethanol and biodiesel produced globally – more than double the output of just four years ago. The worldwide Bio-fuel industry will continue to enjoy explosive growth for years to come – expanding into a US$81 billion business within the next 10-years!”

Floyd Brown in Investment U looks at another alternative energy source: the Fischer-Tropsch process, used to create synthetic fuels.

“The process works like this: Coal is broken into its components by subjecting it to high temperature and pressure, using steam and measured amounts of oxygen. This leads to the production of synthetic gas.

“In the United States, a small firm provides technology to produce ultra-clean synthetic fuels and chemicals. It licenses its proprietary derivative process from the Fischer-Tropsch method.

“It converts synthesis gas derived from coal, petroleum coke, biomass, natural gas, or municipal solid waste into liquid hydrocarbon products. This includes ultra clean diesel fuel, jet fuel, naphtha, specialty chemicals and other fuel products. It also manufactures anhydrous ammonia, UAN, nitric acid, carbon dioxide and granular and liquid urea.”

Read on here to find out Floyd’s cashing in on this conventional energy alternative.

I have been extensively researching the global energy crisis that’s now underway. My research is uncovering some very interesting investment candidates with lots of profit potential. The interesting thing is…NONE of these firms are traditional big oil & gas firms that investors are so fond of.

Crude oil soared as high as US$135 a barrel last week – more than double the price of a year ago. But big oil firms like ExxonMobil WILL NOT be cashing in on the next phase of the energy boom.

Instead, the richest investment opportunities can be found in the fast-emerging alternative energy sector.

That’s where oilman T. Boone Pickens is putting his money – his company Mesa Power just placed an order for US$2 billion in wind turbines. And there’s much more profit potential in other parts of the alternative energy sector too – especially alternative fuel.

• The market for ALL alternative energy sources grew 40% last year alone to US$77.3 billion and will explode into a US$250 billion industry within 10 years.
• Bio-fuel grew to a US$25.4 billion market last with more than 15 billion gallons of ethanol and biodiesel produced globally – more than double the output of just four years ago.
• The worldwide Bio-fuel industry will continue to enjoy explosive growth for years to come – expanding into a US$81 billion business within the next 10-years!

But you don’t have to wait two decades or even two years to start making serious money from this energy-sector market shock…

Fossil fuels are dead – the future belongs to alternative energy. Vast fortunes will be made in the “great fuel revolution!”

MIKE BURNICK, Senior Editor & Global Markets Analyst

P.S. I’m pulling the trigger on my first market-shock recommendations to take advantage of the great fuel revolution. My first pick is a renegade oil firm that develops “HemiCell-190″, which already powers 2.6 million cars. My second selection is a “giant killer” that just scooped-up gold-mine in alternative energy assets that ExxonMobil threw away. Subscribers to my signature research investment service Market Shock Trader will be hearing from me about even more ways to profit. Very soon, I’ll be sending them specific rifle-shot plays to cash in on alternative energy!

Source: Legendary Oil Man Turns Back on Oil

This from Mike Burnick:

Brazil is far and away the global leader in ethanol production technology. In fact, the country began large-scale development of ethanol as an alternative fuel source amid the oil shock of the late 1970’s and early 80’s.

Today, ethanol accounts for 50% of Brazil’s total annual automotive fuel consumption. More than 70% of new cars sold in the country are flex-fuel capable. That means they’re able to run either on gasoline, ethanol, or some combination of the two.

Currently, Brazil is the world’s second-largest ethanol producer, and largest exporter, with total output of about six billion gallons a year.

The country has its sights set on becoming the dominant global exporter of ethanol by 2020. Brazil’s global ethanol exports could total as much as 200 billion gallons a year within that time – that’s over 30-times today’s ethanol production. Talk about a growing industry!

U.S. and Europe Just Can’t Compete with Brazilian Ethanol

Brazil enjoys a big advantage over other nations – as the world’s lowest cost ethanol producer. As shown in the graph above, Brazil can distill bio-fuels from sugar cane at a significant cost advantage to other nations.

Neither U.S. corn-based ethanol, nor wheat-based ethanol from Europe, can come close to matching the Brazilians on a production cost basis.

The sugarcane plant, which flourishes in Brazil’s tropical climate, produces a “yield” of 6,000 liters of ethanol per hectare of land. That’s about twice the yield of corn-based ethanol!

In fact, Brazilian ethanol is about 40% cheaper to make than in the U.S. – and costs less than half the price of European ethanol.

When Trade Tariffs Fall, Brazilian Ethanol Will Flow

Of course Washington, in their infinite wisdom, maintains silly trade tariffs equal to 54-cents a gallon on imported ethanol. This ridiculous trade barrier benefits a relatively small number of U.S. corn farmers at the expense of millions of American drivers.

In spite of this, Brazil’s largest ethanol export market remains the United States. In fact, Brazil shipped us more than 430 million gallons of ethanol last year – up fourfold from 2004! Wholesale gasoline prices in the U.S. are leaping above US$4 a gallon, and will keep spiraling higher as crude oil goes through the roof during what’s shaping up to be a long, hot summer.

Naturally, pressure is mounting for Congress to eliminate this silly, protectionist ethanol tariff. When that happens, the floodgates will open wide for much-cheaper Brazilian ethanol to flow freely into U.S. markets.

By leveraging the strength of its vast sugarcane growing region, and building on its already well-established ethanol producing technology, Brazil is perfectly positioned to benefit.

In fact, this emerging market tiger could easily become the Saudi Arabia of ethanol within the next decade. You heard it here first!

Hopefully, American protectionist trade tariffs are lifted soon… and when they are, Brazil’s ethanol expansion would quickly follow.

There’s also another crisis brewing at the moment – that’s becoming more painfully obvious with each passing day: A global energy crisis! In many ways, the two are closely connected…

U.S. corn-based ethanol production is a big reason why corn prices surged 56% higher in the past 12 months alone. About one-third of the entire U.S. corn crop is being diverted from kitchen tables to gas tanks.

As a result, people are rioting in poor countries around the world. They’re taking to the streets in protest over U.S. corn-based ethanol. They complain bitterly that we are trading THEIR food for OUR fuel. But there is a better way…

In fact, there is an “emerging” alternative bio-fuel source that is a lot more efficient than corn-based ethanol, and doesn’t require the same food vs. fuel trade-off.

In fact, Brazil is leading the great fuel revolution – with sugar cane-based ethanol…

Brazil’s Big Ethanol Advantage

Brazil is far and away the global leader in ethanol production technology. In fact, the country began large-scale development of ethanol as an alternative fuel source amid the oil shock of the late 1970’s and early 80’s.

Today, ethanol accounts for 50% of Brazil’s total annual automotive fuel consumption. More than 70% of new cars sold in the country are flex-fuel capable. That means they’re able to run either on gasoline, ethanol, or some combination of the two.

Currently, Brazil is the world’s second-largest ethanol producer, and largest exporter, with total output of about six billion gallons a year.

The country has its sights set on becoming the dominant global exporter of ethanol by 2020. Brazil’s global ethanol exports could total as much as 200 billion gallons a year within that time – that’s over 30-times today’s ethanol production. Talk about a growing industry!

U.S. and Europe Just Can’t Compete with Brazilian Ethanol

Brazil enjoys a big advantage over other nations – as the world’s lowest cost ethanol producer. As shown in the graph above, Brazil can distill bio-fuels from sugar cane at a significant cost advantage to other nations.

Neither U.S. corn-based ethanol, nor wheat-based ethanol from Europe, can come close to matching the Brazilians on a production cost basis.

The sugarcane plant, which flourishes in Brazil’s tropical climate, produces a “yield” of 6,000 liters of ethanol per hectare of land. That’s about twice the yield of corn-based ethanol!

In fact, Brazilian ethanol is about 40% cheaper to make than in the U.S. – and costs less than half the price of European ethanol.

When Trade Tariffs Fall, Brazilian Ethanol Will Flow

Of course Washington, in their infinite wisdom, maintains silly trade tariffs equal to 54-cents a gallon on imported ethanol. This ridiculous trade barrier benefits a relatively small number of U.S. corn farmers at the expense of millions of American drivers.

In spite of this, Brazil’s largest ethanol export market remains the United States. In fact, Brazil shipped us more than 430 million gallons of ethanol last year – up fourfold from 2004! Wholesale gasoline prices in the U.S. are leaping above US$4 a gallon, and will keep spiraling higher as crude oil goes through the roof during what’s shaping up to be a long, hot summer.

Naturally, pressure is mounting for Congress to eliminate this silly, protectionist ethanol tariff. When that happens, the floodgates will open wide for much-cheaper Brazilian ethanol to flow freely into U.S. markets.

By leveraging the strength of its vast sugarcane growing region, and building on its already well-established ethanol producing technology, Brazil is perfectly positioned to benefit.

In fact, this emerging market tiger could easily become the Saudi Arabia of ethanol within the next decade. You heard it here first!

MIKE BURNICK, Senior Editor & Global Markets Analyst

P.S. Want to know more about the great fuel revolution – including the alternatives that may be running your car within the next 10 years? Click here to read my FREE special report to get all the details.

Source: Put This Emerging Market Tiger in Your Tank!