Profiting from Clean Energy: A Complete Guide to Trading Green in Solar, Wind, Ethanol, Fuel Cell, Carbon Credit Industries, and More Book

Acknowledgments     xiii
Introduction     1
Clean Energy Investments and Performance: The Show Has Just Begun     5
Clean Energy Business Startup     5
Angel Investing     7
Venture Capital     7
Publicly Traded Stocks     8
Clean Energy Stocks Listed Outside the U.S.     10
Large-cap Stocks     11
Global Petroleum Companies     12
Clean Energy Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs)     14
Green Mutual Funds     15
Global ETFs and Green Mutual Funds     20
Futures and Options     21
Investment Criteria for Publicly Traded Stocks     21
Valuation and Bubbles     22
Clean Energy Stock Performance     23
Catalysts for the Clean Energy Industry     27
Fossil Fuel Negatives: Pollution, CO[subscript 2] Emissions, Cartels, Price Spikes, and Rising Prices     27
Energy Security     31
Growing Global Energy Demand     33
Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate Change     36
Clean Energy Technology Improvements     39
Demand for Distributed Power Solutions Due to Grid Unreliability     40
Rising Electricity Prices     41
Couldthe Clean Energy Movement Fizzle if Oil Prices Plunge?     43
Clean Energy Catalysts: Investment Conclusion     46
The Government Push: Strong Enough to Get Clean Energy to Fossil Fuel Parity?     47
Types of Government Clean Energy Incentives and Mandates     48
Renewable Energy Targets Worldwide     50
Government Clean Energy Support Initiatives in the United States     53
A Post-Kyoto Carbon Emissions Framework     57
Clean Energy Potential: Double-Digit Growth for Decades     61
Overview of Global and U.S. Energy Flows     62
Overview of U.S. Electricity Generation Sources     65
Fossil Fuel Market Size: Even a Nose Under the Tent Is Worth Billions     69
Renewable Energy Forecasts     70
Solar Power: The Sky Is the Limit     75
Solar Thermal Power     75
Solar Photovoltaic Power     81
Solar Power Industry Growth Rates     89
Demand Generated by Government Incentives and Regulation     91
Solar Power Pricing and Competitiveness     99
Upstream Solar Players: Polysilicon and Wafer Producers     103
Thin Film Threats to Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells     112
Upgraded Metallurgical Silicon (uMGS): A Threat to Traditional Polysilicon Producers?     116
Solar PV Cell and Module Producers     118
The Investment Outlook for Solar Cell/Module Manufacturers     122
Wind Power: The Dutch Windmill Gets a Technology Makeover     125
Advantages and Disadvantages of Wind Power     126
How Do Wind Turbines Work?     128
Technological Developments     129
Offshore Wind     130
Industry Growth Rates and Prospects for Future Growth     131
The Economics of Wind Power     133
Government-Sponsored Incentives     135
Wind Industry Issue: Component Shortages     137
Wind Industry Players     137
Fuel Cells: Present and Accounted for in Some Applications Already     147
Advantages and Disadvantages of Fuel Cells     148
What is a Fuel Cell? Overview of the Technology     149
Fuel Cell Industry Analysis: Industry Players     154
Fuel Cell Industry Target Markets     158
Commercialization Challenges     158
Geothermal Power: Dante's Contribution to Clean Energy     163
Advantages and Disadvantages of Geothermal Power     163
Geothermal Resources     165
The Extraction of Geothermal Energy     167
Geothermal Power Plant Systems Under Development     169
Geothermal Heat Pumps     170
Economics of Geothermal Power     171
The Future of Geothermal Energy     172
Cleaner Utilities: Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks     177
Green Power Marketing Programs     178
Renewable Energy Certificates     180
Sources of Renewable Energy     181
Methane Gas Extraction     183
Companies Operating in Biomass and Biogas     184
Wave and Tide Power     185
Power Efficiency: 'The Cheapest and Most Available Source of Energy Is the Energy We Waste'     187
Efficient Appliances     189
Efficient Lighting     190
Efficient Buildings-Green Buildings     197
Companies Involved in Building Efficiency     198
Smart Meters: Getting Smart on Grid Efficiency and Reliability     201
Smart Grid     201
Demand Response as a Power Efficiency Solution     203
The Role of Smart Meters     206
Demand Response and Advanced Metering     210
Benefits of Smart Meters     210
Current Smart Meter Usage     211
Advanced Metering Costs and Benefits     212
Southern California Edison's Business Case Experience for Advanced Metering     214
Interoperability and Industry Standards     214
Global Demand Response     215
U.S. Regulators-Generally Positive Toward Advanced Metering     216
What is Ahead for the Smart Meter Industry?     216
Industry Meter Penetration Rates and Upgrade Opportunities     217
Smart Meter Industry Growth Rates     218
Electricity Meter Market Shares     219
Power Storage and Backup Systems: When the Grid Just Won't Do     225
Types of Direct Electricity Storage Systems     227
Types of Power Storage Systems     231
Target Market Sizes     233
Clean Transportation: Electric Hybrids Are Charged Up and Ready to Go     237
The Internal Combustion Engine: Can It Be Saved?     238
Alternative Fuels for the Internal Combustion Engine     239
Eliminating the Internal Combustion Engine     241
Hybrid Gasoline-Electric Vehicles     242
Plug-in Electric Hybrid Vehicles (PHEVs)     244
Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Players     246
All-Electric Vehicles     247
Clean Transportation Investment Conclusions     249
Ethanol and Biofuels: Long-Term Transportation Solution or Flash in the Pan until More Environmentally Friendly Vehicle Technologies Take Over?     253
Biofuels: What Are They?     253
Advantages and Disadvantages     254
U.S. Government Support for Ethanol     257
Obstacles for the U.S. Ethanol Industry     258
Brazilian Competition     260
How Far Can Ethanol Go to Replace Gasoline in the U.S. Transportation Fuel Supply?     263
The Future of Ethanol: Cellulosic-Based Ethanol     265
Ethanol Company Investment Analysis     266
U.S. Ethanol Industry Market Shares     269
Ethanol Investment Conclusions     271
Companies Supporting the U.S. Ethanol Industry     272
Trading Biofuel Markets: Feedstock Frenzy     275
Ethanol     275
Corn     278
Sugar     280
Soybean Oil     281
Palm Oil     283
Big Coal-Meet Your New Partners: Cleaner Coal Technology and Carbon Capture     285
Global Coal Usage     286
U.S. Coal Companies     287
Cleaner Coal Technologies     289
Cleaner Burning Coal     289
Coal-Fired Power Plant Pollution Controls     290
Coal Gasification and CO[subscript 2] Sequestration      291
Algae-Based CO[subscript 2] Absorption     293
Coal-to-Liquid Transportation Fuel     294
Clean Coal Investment Conclusions     295
Carbon Trading: Poised to Become the World's Largest Commodity Market?     297
Trading European CO[subscript 2] Allowances     297
Causes of Price Movements     300
European Cap-and-Trade CO[subscript 2] Emissions Background Explanation     302
Chicago Climate Exchange     303
Investment Conclusions     307
Appendix     311
Notes     319
Index     351