I received an e-mail the other day from a reader who wanted to know if he should invest in more speculative renewable energy stocks, now that there are so many to choose from.

Obviously I cannot answer such a question on an individual basis, but I'm happy to share his question with you, since it is pretty relevant and timely.

You see, when we first started Green Chip, nearly every renewable energy investment was speculative. There were maybe 2 or 3 stocks that were considered "safe" when it came to this sector.

But today, many of those "speculative" stocks back in 2004 and 2005 are now some of the strongest and safest in the overall renewable energy mix.

Look at Ormat Technologies (NYSE:ORA), for instance.

Here's a stock that we recommended back in January, 2005.

When we first put out the recommendation, we had quite a few members who saw this stock as too risky.

But the potential was there, so we stuck to our guns.

This is how Ormat has performed since we added it to our portfolio...

Of course, even with the success of Ormat, there were also some that didn't work out quite as well. It's just the chance you take when you decide to invest in a stock that's so small.

That being said, a lot of this has to do with market conditions too.

In 2007, it seemed like we were adding new stocks to our portfolio almost every month.

But this year, the market's been too volatile for that. In fact, we've only been able to recommended 4 new stocks this year.

Here's how they've performed so far...

Stock #1 - up 83.59%

Stock #2 - up 23.04%

Stock #3 - up 6.13%

Stock #4 - up 13.57%

As you can see, being patient, and sticking with the "safer" plays has certainly done quite well for us.

Investing in Renewable Energy Stocks

But the question still remains - "Is it a good idea to start investing in some of the more speculative renewable energy stocks?"

This is really a personal decision based on how much risk you're willing to take. Though I have to be honest, market conditions this year have been pretty ripe for picking up (and profiting from) some of these more speculative plays.

Just ask Nick Hodge, managing editor of the Alternative Energy Speculator.

Nick got his readers into a certain speculative solar stock back in March. Today, that stock is up 143.3%.

Picking up a triple-digit gainer in 3 months is nothing to ignore.

And Nick's most recent speculative recommendation (one he made just 3 trading days ago) is up 18.41% already.

Of the 17 stocks in Nick's portfolio, 12 are winners.

And of those twelve, 7 are double-digit winners, and 2 are triple-digit winners.

So as you can see, there's certainly a real advantage to some of these speculative plays.

Fortunately Nick is an expert when it comes to analyzing risk vs. reward in these scenarios. That's why he's able to boast such an impressive portfolio.

It's also why we hired him to begin with!

In any event, the bottom line is: If you're willing to take on a bit more risk—with the right guidance—investing in some of these more speculative renewable energy stocks can definitely pay off big.

If you'd like to learn more about the Alternative Energy Speculator, or better yet—Nick's next pick, click here.

To a new way of life, and a new generation of wealth...

Jeff