In the age of the sound-bite, when one of green energy’s high-profile advocates backs away from a $2-billion project, you know that alternative energy is on life support.

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.

The Pickens Plan, billionaire energy investor T. Boone Pickens‘ plan to reduce American dependence on foreign oil, has been getting a tonne of attention since Pickens launched the initiative at the beginning of the month.

And so it should.

First off, Pickens, a qualified geologist, knows a thing or two about oil and energy. In 1956 he founded Mesa Power. The company grew into the largest independent exploration companies in the US.