The Times’ story cited the Solar Energy Industries Association as reporting that 3,400 companies in the solar energy sector employ only 25,000 to 35,000 workers, including installers, manufacturers, distributors and project developers and materials suppliers. Those numbers are expected to hit more 110,000 employees by 2016, according to the association.

Wait a minute: So seven years from now, this highly touted, save-the-world market will employ only 110,000 people?

From an investor’s perspective, I thought that number was absolutely puny. Let’s put that into perspective…

– Toyota employs 110,000 part-time workers.
– That’s the number of foreclosure notices sent to homeowners in California during the first quarter of this year.
– And in terms of size, Exxon, Rio Tinto and Wachovia each employ about 110,000 people.

So we’re supposed to be impressed, as investors, that the entire solar-energy industry will support 110,000 workers seven years from now?

Of course, those numbers from Solar Energy Industries Association could be wildly optimistic given a sea change in the politics of solar energy.

You see, that articles in the New York Times quotes Bob Cowen of Morris County, N.J., who opted for solar panels for both ecological and economic reasons. The tab for 49 solar panels for Mr. Cowen’s home came to $64,700. The state of New Jersey gave him a rebate of $42,500. That left Mr. Cowen with an out-of-pocket cost of $22,200.

Now the article didn’t say when Mr. Cowen installed his system, but recently the state of New Jersey moved to abolish its solar-energy rebates.

The state found itself with backlog of more than 700 applications for the rebates. This meant that people to wait months, even years, to get solar panels installed. Faced with an abundance of success, New Jersey regulators concluded it is time to wean solar providers from tax-paid subsidies and replace it with a complicated energy credits program.

New Jersey is not alone in reconsidering the benefits of subsidized solar energy. Maryland, Colorado, New York and several other states have either withdrawn their subsidy programs or are weighing their viability. Even San Francisco can’t seem to draw support for a solar subsidy.

The question that remains is: Would Mr. Cowan have paid the full $64,700 for his solar system? Probably not, since he probably would not have lived long enough to see the full ROI on it.

Likewise, I doubt that any of you would cough up $64,700 for a solar system that has a Rip Van Winkle ROI.

If that’s the case, then as an investor you shouldn’t put a penny into solar energy either.

This from Today’s Financial News:

He is either going to be a hero or an absolute zero. For nearly three years now, Tom Djokovich, the CEO of XsunX (OTC:XSNX), has been promising investors that his fledgling solar panel manufacturer was on the cusp of a major sale.

When I talked with the executive early in the winter of 2005, he kept the company’s official word that it would have its first sale by that spring. Investors flocked to the company, speculating big gains were on the way.

The alternative energy boom was just starting to gain traction and investors believed XsunX was going to be a huge winner. Shares soared from less than $0.25 to almost $3.00 from June of 2005 to April of the following year.

The orders never came.

Share price has been dropping ever since. In fact, investors recently had to endure the pain of 52-week lows below $0.18. The action has not been pretty.

Solar manufacturer or P.R firm?

The decline in valuation is certainly not for a lack of trying on behalf of the company’s public relations team. For the past two years, every new hire, new supplier contract, new investment and even the company’s attendance at industry conferences has been pumped through the media engine.

The shoddy releases were from a desperate company making desperate moves. Investors eventually grew tired of the failed promises and lack of any real information. The more press releases XsunX issued, the further its price dropped.

It is no wonder investors are desperate for answers after yesterday’s announcement. XsunX actually announced a major order. It has entered a two-year contract with a solar power company working on projects in California and Hawaii.

According to XsunX, in exchange for $37 million, the company will supply 15 megawatts worth of its solar modules. A third of the order will be filled in 2009, with the remaining 10 megawatts supplied in 2010.

That is about all the company has said on what should be a monumental subject. It has not mentioned how it will produce the modules or where it will find the cash flow to being operations. After all, its newly leased 90,000-square foot production facility, which is undergoing major renovations, appears nowhere close to being complete. The last I heard, production was not supposed to begin until April of 2009.

Not buyin’ it

It was no surprise to see shares of XsunX jump on yesterday’s news, from $0.19 to $0.25. After all, this company has a long history of getting positive attention just when investors believe the end is near. But if investors truly believed in the company, its management and its products, shares would have climbed even higher.

With almost nothing left in cash, an array of expenses and no hope of finding ample credit in this market, I remain leery of this company’s future success.

Yesterday’s news, if it turns out to be the real deal, could be the company’s saving grace, but we have been here before.

If you are looking for an ultra-speculative play, this is it. As for me, however, I am waiting to see what comes next. If the company can make it through next spring, I will be investigating the situation again. For now, it looks like yet another costly trap.

Source: Solar industry investing: Is XsunX (XSNX) the real deal?

This from Smart Profits Report:

The winds of change are coming…

Not only does that include Barack Obama taking office in a little under two months time, it could also include a natural energy resource receiving an increasing amount of attention.

Last year was a breakthrough year for the U.S. wind industry, with total wind-power capacity rising by 45%. That accounted for 30% of all new power production.

And if you think wind made impressive advances when an oilman was in the White House, just wait until President Barack Obama takes office.

During the presidential election, Obama made renewable and alternative energy a key campaign issue, sounding off controversially against the continued use of coal-fired power plants.

“If somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can,” he said during the campaign. “It’s just that it will bankrupt them.”

Global… And Growing At An Accelerated Pace

Recent legislation mandates that at least 15% of U.S. electricity come from green sources by 2020. But under the Obama administration, if all goes according to plan, expect to see calls for 10% of our electricity to come from green sources by 2012 and 25% by 2025.

The U.S isn’t alone in its call to clean up the environment this way. China’s new energy plans, released in September 2007, included a push to generate 10% of its power from wind by 2010 and 15% by 2015.

And the EU has mandated that 20% of its energy comes from renewable resources like wind by 2020. In some places, such as Denmark, that goal is already a reality. And across Europe, efforts are already well under way to ensure that wind turbines account for roughly one-third of all new generating capacity installed in the next few years. That means providing electricity for 90 million people by 2010.

The wind power movement isn’t limited to large countries like China or to rich countries like the United States. It’s global.

North Africa, the Middle East and certain South American countries have all gotten into the act. The first two regions increased wind energy installations by 42% last year.

And a recent study showed that Egypt, with its strong wind activity in the Suez Gulf, could host 20,000 megawatts of wind farms.

And then there’s Brazil, which has 14 projects totaling 107 megawatts scheduled for completion by the end of the year, and another 900+ megawatts slated for 2009.

This Investment Has Both Power And Potential

And it’s not just governments that are embracing wind power. Even oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens is getting behind this alternative energy trend. He’s wagering $12 billion on an area spanning the Texas panhandle that, when finished, will be the world’s largest wind farm. He’s already ordered 667 turbines from General Electric.

Why has this legendary oil investor hitched his future to wind? Because he knows that this alternative energy source is our best shot at reducing our dependence on foreign oil. In one year, a single 3-megawatt wind turbine produces as much energy as 12,000 barrels of oil – without consuming any natural resources or emitting any pollution or greenhouse gases.

The good news, as Pickens points out, is that the United States is the Saudi Arabia of wind power.

The Great Plains is home to the greatest wind energy potential in the world, and Pickens envisions a string of wind facilities stretching from Texas to North Dakota capable of producing 20% of the nation’s electricity.

But right now, even despite these huge advances, wind power still accounts for a tiny fraction of the world’s energy needs: About 1% in the United States and 1.3% globally.

That’s all set to change, though…

Where Wind Energy Is Going Next

According to the Department of Energy, wind energy could generate 20% of U.S. electricity by 2030. Compared to today, that’s a 40-bagger industry-wide. This means that a few of the best and the brightest wind stocks could easily rise 100-to-1 before it’s all over.

You can do the math. Unless someone discovers the fountain of youth, I doubt you’ll find any industry in the world with as much growth potential.

Check out these other wind facts…

• Wind energy grew 667% between 2000 and 2008, from 2,554 megawatts of installed U.S. capacity to 19,600. In that time, in fact, the United States became the world leader in wind power generation, outpacing Germany.

• A 2005 NASA study pegged the power of the global wind supply at 72 terawatts, or roughly five times global power consumption. That means there is virtually no limit to the degree from which the world can harness this 100% clean, 100% free and 100% renewable resource. It’s only a matter of time, and the clock is ticking.

• The demand for wind power isn’t only strong and globally pervasive, in most nations, it’s been written into law.

• Nearly three-dozen U.S. states that have mandated that utilities buy an increasing amount of their electricity from renewable resources. They literally have to buy wind turbines. And that legal obligation is worthwhile, too. As part of the recent $700 billion TARP bailout, Congress extended a $0.02 per kilowatt-hour production tax credit. That means the cash goes straight to their bottom line instead of to Uncle Sam. Both these factors will continue to provide a strong incentive for wind power.

The changing of the White House guard takes place in less than two months’ time, with Obama practically vowing to turn the White House “green.” Coal power is out. Wind power is in. And the wind industry will likely be the focal point of government mandated energy initiatives for the next few decades.

We’ve pinpointed a select group of FOUR investments that will benefit the most when an unprecedented infusion of government cash is pumped into this industry.

These companies are immune to nearly all outside economic forces and have their sales orders on file in amounts that could set them – and you – up for years to come. Click here to find out how to profit from wind power.

Source: With A Changing Of The Political Guard, Now Is The Time To Harness The Profit Potential Of Wind Power

I am not sure this country should follow the advice of a man that has lost over $2 billion so far this year. But then again, some of the nation’s most powerful men have lost far more than that in just the past few weeks.

If you spend any time watching your living room television set, you have seen T. Boone Pickens discussing his proposed energy plan. The 80-year old has spent over $58 million of his own money to tell the nation it must lose its dependence on foreign oil.

What the white-haired oil barren does not tell you is that his money is not where his mouth his. While Pickens was telling you and I to fund his $100-billion idea, the fund he manages, BP Capital, was invested heavily in crude. And thanks to Pickens’ investing decisions, the fund has dropped in value by over 60% so far this year.

It is no wonder the investing firm’s phones are ringing off their hooks with folks looking to pull their money out of the fund. About half of BP Capital’s investors want out of their positions. Their capital withdraw has taken the fund’s size down to just $400 million.

It is a strong blow to the oil maverick’s ego.

Pickens promises to make the $2 billion back, but it is going to be much, much harder now that he has less funding to work with.

Should have known better

Investing in the energy business is a hard racket. After all, it is one of the most cyclical industries out there. But with decades of experience and several boom-to-bust cycles under his belt, one would expect Pickens to be able to avoid his current situation.

With so much negativity surrounding the investor and his picks, it will be hard for folks to get onboard with his newly proposed plans. As oil prices drop with the slowing economy, expensive prospects like wind, geothermal, and solar power are going to look far less attractive than they did when Pickens started his campaign.

While Pickens is pushing his alternative-energy agenda on the mainstream networks, his philanthropy is much more indicative of the investor’s true thoughts.

Instead of adding more money to his energy investments, Pickens is donating it to his beloved Oklahoma State and its football team. He just wrote a $65 million check earmarked to help finish the school’s football stadium.

Plus, Pickens said he would be returning the $125 million he managed in a hedge fund for the school. When he started the investment, it was worth $165 million.

Oh well, it is the thought that counts.

Source: T. Boone Pickens shows his cards