Of all the people you might expect to spearhead a movement away from oil and onto alternative energy, T. Boone Pickens probably wouldn’t be at the top of the list.
President-elect Barack Obama has made no bones about wanting to jump-start the renewable energy markets – pledging $150 billion for the development of biofuels, solar and wind power, other alternative energy sources during his first term.
The election of Barack Obama as president is essentially a vote for green energy over fossil fuels, says Andy Obermueller. Even though oil prices have fallen, wind power is a renewable energy source with a big global future. And investors should move quickly to make big profits when the government pumps money into the industry.
Costs for solar thermal energy will be cheaper than coal as soon as 2020, according to a report from the US Department of Energy, making one solar ETF a great way to profit.
Google, Chevron and Goldman are all betting that this prediction is correct. This from Bloomberg:
Unlike photovoltaic solar panels that convert sunlight to electricity, solar thermal focuses sunrays with mirrors to heat oil in glass pipes to about 700 degrees Fahrenheit (370 degrees Celsius).
China is already the world leader in producing solar cells – now it wants to make a grab other sectors of the alternative energy market.
“Prepare for the onslaught of relatively inexpensive Chinese turbines,” said Steve Sawyer, head of the Global Wind Energy Council, in Wired magazine.
In 2007, China became the world’s number one producer of photo-voltaic cells, holding 35% of the market. Sawyer reckons that China will make enough equipment to generate 10 gigawatts of power annually by 2010 — more than half the capacity that the whole world installed in 2007.
Despite my insistent, if illogical, argument against the idea, I am assured by those in the business that, yes, wind turbines do sometimes stop moving. And when they do, batteries to store and release back excess energy from earlier, more blustery, hours is a necessity, which is where NGK Insulators comes in.
