Solar Plays Solar Plays: Life after Oil, Part II
by Eric J. Fry
The Rude Awakening
Wall Street, New York
Wednesday, March 15, 2006 Eric J. Fry discusses some companies that may make good Solar Plays. ------------------------- - More Rude solutions to the coming energy crisis,
- A big thank you to the trilobites and pterodactyls
for the light and heat and,
- Got a bio-diesel play? All the market data and an
invite from the options guru...
------------------------- Eric Fry, reporting from the heart of Manhattan... "Ethan, how was school today?" your New York editor asked
his 7-year old son yesterday. "Um...good," came the uninspired reply. "Oh really? What did you learn?" his father persisted. "Um...let me think. Well, we learned about...what it's
called...oh yeah, Energy! We learned that if there were
never any dinosaurs, we wouldn't be able to drive a car.
And we learned that if there wasn't a sun, there wouldn't
be any life on earth." "Very interesting," his father replied. "How many
Tyrannosaurus Rexes does it take to fill a gas tank?" "Daddy," Ethan rolled his eyes, "you're trying too hard." ...As Ethan's learned teachers point out, Modern Man/Woman
owes a debt of gratitude to the noble dinosaur, and to all
the other ancient fauna and flora that comprised the
Cretaceous sludge that became our present-day hydrocarbons.
Unfortunately, the supply of deceased, compressed and
catagenetically transformed trilobites and pterodactyls is
not limitless. In fact, we humans have probably already
burned through about half of all the crude oil that the
earth's crust contains...and we are on track to burn
through the other half within less than 40 years. The quest for alternative energy sources, therefore, has
gained increasing urgency. This quest is no longer the
exclusive domain of science geeks and "granola heads."
That's because $60 crude oil has contributed a tangible
profit motive to the search for viable alternatives. A profit motive also inspires our quest to identify
companies that will benefit from alternative energy
technologies. That's why we recently polled all "Rude"
readers for their favorite alternative energy investments.
Solar energy plays seemed particularly popular among "Rude"
readers...Check 'em out.
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-------------------------
Life After Oil, Part II
Edited by Eric J. Fry "My favorite bio energy is solar," writes Tony Gavali.
"Look at Solarworld AG (listed in Germany). SWV GR on
Bloomberg. Solarworld is expanding and this will reduce the
cost of production and make it more accessible to the
masses. Solar is clean and has no moving parts. If you
covered a quarter of the Sahara Desert with solar panels,
it would solve the world's electricity problems. Solarworld
has a market cap of approximately 3 billion EUR. [Editor's
note: Solarworld also trades over-the-counter in the U.S.
under the symbol: SRWRF] Continuing the solar theme, a reader named Gerry
writes, "Greetings, the only stock in my portfolio that
fits your criteria is ATS Automation Tooling (ATA CN on
Bloomberg). The name is weird, but the division that is
going to make them a ton of $$$$ is their solar division,
which will probably be spun off as a separate entity in the
not too distant future. That is where the real money will
be made..." Next up, reader Patrick Lim offered up a suite of solar
energy plays: Sunpower Corporation, Energy Conversion
Devices and Evergreen Solar... "SunPower Corporation (Nasdaq: SPWR) engages in the design,
manufacture, and sale of solar electric power products,"
Lim writes. "It offers solar cells, solar panels, and
inverters that generate electricity from sunlight for
residential, commercial, and remote power applications.
Market Cap (intraday) – "2.5 billion." Solar Plays: Energy Conversion Devices, Inc.
For his second solar play, Lim suggests Energy Conversion
Devices, Inc. (Nasdaq: ENER). "The company engages in the
invention, engineering, development, and commercialization
of materials, products, and production technology in the
fields of alternative energy technology and information
technology," says Lim. "The company also involves in
research and development, and production of proprietary
materials and products, as well as in designing and
building production machinery. In addition, it offers
Photovoltaics, which provides clean energy by converting
sunlight into electricity. Further, the company, through a
joint venture with Chevron Technology Ventures, provides
nickel metal hydride batteries for various applications,
including transportation, telecommunication,
uninterruptible power supply, military, homeland security,
stationary power, and other prismatic battery
applications." Sign Up for The Rude Awakening Start your mornings off with a dose of Rude news. The Rude Awakening is dedicated to highlighting phenomena in the financial markets that others may not see. Let the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times "break news." Sign up FREE Today! We will not share your email address with anyone else, period.
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To conclude his suite of solar energy plays, Lim mentions
Evergreen Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq: ESLR). "Evergreen engages in
the development, manufacture, and marketing of solar power
products in the United States and internationally. It
manufactures its products through its proprietary 'String
Ribbon' technology. The company's products primarily
include solar cells, panels, and systems. Its solar modules
are used for residential, commercial, and industrial
applications. Evergreen Solar products are used in on-grid
and off-grid applications. It sells its products through
distributors, system integrators, and other value-added
resellers. The company has strategic partnership with Q-
Cells AG to manufacture, market, and sell solar products
based on its proprietary 'String Ribbon' technology. Evergreen Solar was formed in 1994 and is headquartered in
Marlboro, Massachusetts. Market Cap (intraday) - 992.22M"
Several readers seem to concur with Lim's favorable
assessment of Evergreen Solar, as do our colleagues over at
Outstanding Investments. Kevin Kerr and Justice Litle, the
editors of Outstanding Investments recently recommended
Evergreen to their subscribers. "Today, solar technology has become more affordable," Kevin
explains. "Manufacturing processes have been streamlined
and continue to become more cost efficient with the help of
government subsidies, consumer rebates and tax credits also
lending a hand. As oil prices continue to increase
exponentially, it seems inevitable that a convergence
between the cost of conventional and alternative energy
will occur...Even though there is so much good news for
solar, it has challenges too. For example, there's the lack
of silicon, which is needed for making the panels. A
silicon shortage has limited the supply of solar panels and
frustrated potential buyers. Orders take several months to
complete and prices, after years of floundering, have
increased by as much as 15%. "The real winners will be those companies that benefit from
the lack of silicon. Primarily, producers of less
efficient, yet available, thin film solar panels. Of
course, other beneficiaries include companies that have
emerging technologies, such as plastic solar cells.
"Solar energy is just a really exciting area right
now...The worldwide solar market is booming – growing by
40% annually in just the last five years...So Justice and I
intend to track this industry very closely and to continue
trotting the globe to look for investment opportunities in
solar energy." [Joel's Note: As the oil age draws to a grinding halt, a
few companies focusing on alternative energy sources will
present savvy investors with the opportunity to rake in
massive profits. Kevin Kerr and Justice Litle have been
busy tracking the newest energy shock. Learn how to best
position yourself to take advantage of this massive blowout
right here: Profit From the Next Big Energy Shock
http://www.agora-inc.com/reports/OST/EOSTG328 P.S. As a round off to the third Group Rude Research
Project, we would like to hear your investment ideas
focusing on bio-diesel production, or some facet of bio-
diesel production. There seems to be much interest in this
potential energy source and we are looking for specific
plays we can share with the Rude community. Please remember
to keep any ideas to companies with a market capitalization
over $500 Million and, as always, no inside information
please. Good researching... Cheers, jOEL
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