Alternative Energy & fuel - A Promising Investment

When Reagan became president, one of the things he did was take out the solar panels from the White House which Jimmy Carter had installed during his term. The panels seemed unsightly and unnecessary to Reagan. The solar panels are once again back in the White House, and with a vengeance this time. There are 167 new photovoltaic panels that will now be heating the White House pool, spa and domestic hot water. President Bush ordered these panels.

With gasoline priced at $3/gallon, and crude oil at $75/barrel, this is a good indication of the upcoming energy policy in Unites States. The soaring oil prices make good news for alternative energy investments which are on the rise in US. They are hopefully not just indicative of another investment bubble which will not deliver much.

Alternative energy is not a niche market any longer. According to a UN report released recently, "Global Trends in Sustainable Energy Development," global investment in renewable energy climbed to $100 billion for the first time last year. More than 30% of this amount has come from mergers and acquisitions by a few large banks. This is serious money. Alternative energy is definitely arriving. And its already being very profitable to many investors.

People are beginning to drive less because of the high oil process. In US, they have pumped 7% less gas this year than they did in this span of time last year. The most productive result of this situation would be for the government to provide financial incentives for alternative energy work. This would encourage further investments in this sector.

Alternative energy sources are coming into hot demand. Investing into alternative energy companies is becoming what investing into technology companies has been. There are more investment opportunities in alternative energy firms today than there have ever been in energy industry. The alternate energy field has a lot of new companies coming up that are creating the needed  technology. The wind energy industry has increased one-third in size since last year, while biofuel industry has doubled, and solar energy industry is making more cost-friendly photovoltaic panels.

The wind energy is very cost effective and can be easily harnessed. This is a growing technology and wind energy companies would be a very good addition to the portfolio. Solar or photovoltaic cell technology is being used in houses, commercial buildings, pocket calculators, etc. Their energy efficiency is constantly increasing as well.

A number of investment portfolio advisors have suggested that wave energy (energy from ocean currents, and temperature differentials between surface and deep ocean waters) is also becoming a alternative energy with good potential. While there are issues to be streamlined, like the effect of salt on metals, the effect of harnessing this energy on marine life, as well as the effect of sea storms on energy producing stations, these problems are being worked on and good solutions for them are coming forth.

This sector of investment does need to be approached with caution, as with any other emerging business field. The prices are likely to fluctuate significantly in short term. Even with this caveat, the future of energy is in alternative energy, and this is a very lucrative investment area, where money put wisely would yield handsome results.