Welcome to the Green Chip Review Weekend Edition — our insights from the week in everything alternative and cleantech, as well as links to our most-read Green Chip Review and sister publication articles.
There's still plenty of animosity toward the cleantech sector.
Scratch that.
The remaining animosity toward the cleantech sector has turned into rampant jealousy.
Case in point: I was chatting with an analyst colleague of mine (I won't embarrass him by divulging his name) about catalysts for the market to go higher, given its bull run over the past year.
My analyst friend told me he didn't see any bull catalysts in the near future.
I disagreed, and said my stocks — cleantech stocks — still had plenty of earnings' dates ahead that would send them higher.
His reply: "Earnings' dates? Your companies don't make money anyway."
He may have been half joking, but he was definitely half serious. Either way, he was all wrong.
Is $206.2 Million 'Making Money'?
What about $172.3 million?
That's how much Iberdrola Renewables (PINK SHEETS: IRVSF) and First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) earned in the first quarter, respectively.
Not revenue. Profit.
Combined, their quarterly (just three months) revenue was over $1.3 billion.
The cleantech industry isn't a little boy anymore, as much as my analyst friend — and many others — wish it were.
And I've spent a lot of time lately trying to figure out why that is...
They don't hate the environment. They don't hate money.
What I've decided is they just don't understand it, especially when it comes to some of the older people I talk to.
Cheap oil has always been there for them. Cheap natural gas has always been there for them. Cheap coal has always been there for them.
In general, cheap energy has always been there for them.
That's what they 'know.' That's what they understand.
But those days are long gone.
So instead of choosing to accept the arrival of new energy technologies and economies — and the profits that come with them — these naysayers are still toying with the other stages of grief with respect to the loss of the traditional energy industry.
They deny; they get angry. They'll say anything to make themselves feel better, including quips like, "Your companies don't make money anyway."
Even when, just this week, cleantech companies were reporting hundred million dollar quarterly profits.
Squash the Noise
To be clear, I'm not saying these people are mean-spirited or intentionally rude.
They just don't understand the complexities currently facing the global energy industry...
The end of cheap oil and the eventual rise in price; the restrictions now being put on coal; the need to secure domestic resources to benefit the greater economy.
Perhaps more importantly, they think energy is a zero-sum game. That is, one energy technology can only succeed at the peril of another.
As a Green Chip member, you should know the realities of the new energy economy. And you should also know that we're bullish on all types of energy.
We're not anti-oil profits; we're anti-egregious oil subsidies and dependence.
We're not anti-natural gas; we're actually pro-natural gas as a transportation transition fuel and as a renewable co-generator.
We're not anti-coal; we're anti-dirty coal and mining practices.
Basically, we (and as a reader, you) have real-world take on the new energy paradigm.
Everything else is noise.
The 'we have plenty of oil' talk is noise; a global warming debate is noise; bird deaths by wind turbines is noise.
You get the idea.
We're after profits from new energy solutions, plain and simple... And we bring them to you several times a week.
You can catch up on this week's profit ideas below.
Call it like you see it.
Nick
The Hottest Domestic Oil Play in Decades: Playing Petro Supply and Demand for Profit
Wealth Daily Publisher Brian Hicks comments on the state of energy in the United States and around the globe and explains why we're in a perfect storm for investment in oil.
U.S. Use of Nuclear Energy on the Rise: The Nuclear Companies You Need to Know About
Energy & Capital Editor Nick Hodge discusses the coming growth of nuclear energy in the U.S., and how to profit as new reactors are approved and constructed.
Consider This Your Official Invitation: Please Join Energy Investors for the Biggest Payday Ever
For the last 15 years, one obscure annual occurrence has scored a handful of in-the-know energy investors gains of 1805%, 2,628%, 3,475% — even as much as 27,811%... Read our latest report about the totally legal "kickback" strategy that has paid in-the-know investors gains like these.
Top American Wind Energy Companies: 10 American Wind Energy Companies You Should Know
Green Chips Stocks guru Jeff Siegel names ten domestic wind companies that are sure to please those looking to "Buy American."
How the Bakken Oil Formation Just Got 50% Bigger: Breaking News from North Dakota
Energy & Capital's Keith Kohl reveals a new study confirming nearly 2 billion barrels of recoverable oil — below the Bakken.
Start-up Smart Grid Companies: 2 Smart Grid Companies with IPO Implications
Green Chip Stocks Editor Nick Hodge explains how to profit from the Smart Grid and names two of the hottest potential new IPOs.
Green Chip Editor Jeff Siegel discusses the relationship between rare earth metals and alternative energy.
Canada's Energy Stimulus Checks: $510 Million Up for Grabs
Green Chip editor Jeff Siegel divulges how, as Canada's cleantech industry reaps billions of investment dollars, you can sign-up to receive a cut of the action — delivered right to you mailbox monthly.
The Future of Nuclear Energy: Obama Warming Up to the N-word
Energy & Capital Editor Nick Hodge talks about the future of Nuclear Energy as dozens of new reactors are being built in China, India, and — yes, even the United States.
Israel Cleantech: Why Israel is a Cleantech Leader
Guest Editor and Sustainable World Capital's Shawn Lesser details the history of innovation, access to capital, scarce resources and other factors propelling cleantech today in Israel.
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