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Renewable Energy & Biofuels
Purpose: To reduce or eliminate our dependence on coal, petroleum, natural gas and other fossil fuels; reduce carbon dioxide and other so-called "greenhouse gases;" increase energy supply security; preserve petroleum assets for those applications for which there is no suitable alternative.
Overview
Solar/photovolatics and Wind power have left the building. Certainly there are further efficiency gains to be made, but already PV and wind power have become key areas of innovation, job creation and return on capital.
In addition, Geothermal, Ocean Currents and Waves, Small-scale HydroElectric, and many others show promise and potential. Like solar and wind, they all deliever the additional advantage of distributed power generation: affordable electricity can be made available to remote areas and developing communities that would otherwise be without it.
For example, diesel fuel is used to power generators in many parts of the world, or propane for lanterns, with toxic results. Small-scale power from clean sources bypasses the need to sacrifice the environment and health for the conveniences of electricity.
Biodiesel is already an important renewable addition to the renewables portfolio, while corn ethanol has suffered a well-deserved black eye from an investment and climate protection perspective. It still makes sense for famers, who will grow whatever they can profitably produce, but ask for our series of slides that tracks the commodity price of petroleum vs. FAO commodity yellow corn. This is no way to build a biorenewable economy!
Ethanol from sugar cane makes more sense where it can grow (and especially where such crops are overproduced and the bagasse can be turned into bioplastics), but we at In3 advocate more energy-rich biohols such as octanol (butanol has only an incrementally better carbon profile than ethanol), molecules that start to resemble petroleum, often derived from waste materials such as ag biomass, or "food-friendly," higher yield-per-acre crops than corn. Sustainable agricultural practices and soil health cannot be ignored.
There are already several biodiesel ventures using various strains of mustard, hybridized oilseed crops, African plantations of jatropha trees, algal oil grown in greenhouses or in conjuction with waste water treatment.
Solar / Photovoltaic
Photovoltaic technology has been gaining increased efficiencies in recent years. PV devices also last longer than ever, with manufacturer warranties of 20 years or more. Government tax credits and utility companies still offer incentives for their use, and with fluctuating petroleum prices, this cleaner technology has become much more popular recently.
For an update on the status of solar project investing, see article (PDF) by Rona Fried, PhD.
Thin-film photovoltaic (solar cell) devices provide performance breakthroughs when compared to conventional solar devices. This featured project manufactures microcrystalline silicon thin film and amorphous-silica & CIGS thin film solar cells. The government of Germany has contracted to purchase the first few years of production.
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View venture's Executive Summary for registered investors only.
Wave Power
A recent session of the Commercial Sustainability Network revealed that wave power is happening around the world and the financials point to commercial viability if the right sight and technology are chosen, properly managed and maintained.
Geothermal
Geothermal energy has the potential to make a significant, clean and economally-competitive contribution to the energy supply. The US Dept. of Energy (Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy program) stated that the overall performance goal for 2010 is that "the levelized cost of power generated from geothermal sources will be reduced from 5-8 cents in 2000, to 3-5 cents per kWh." See the Geothermal Resource Council set of Oct 13, 2003 presentations for details. US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has a similar message in their Geothermal Technologies Program website.
Wind Power
The economics for new turbine and wind power generation systems have reached parity with fossil fuel or carbon-based sources, with none of the environmental downsides. Wind energy is one of the cleanest forms of energy around. It is non-polluting and minimally disruptive to the natural environment, with no emissions, excessive noise or waste heat byproducts. Recent technology advances have reached a price/performance mark that makes wind highly profitable while simultaneously reducing risk to migratory birds by increasing the size and visibility of the blades, slowing the speed of rotation and using tubular towers with internal ladders and underground wiring to eliminate roosting and nesting sites on the structure itself. The only questions are how quickly will we adopt wind power sources and who will benefit.
Download the 6/25/03 article on Wind Power from the Earth Policy Institute.
See also the US Dept. of Energy's Energy Information Administration statistics and trends database (a particularly helpful article is at www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/solar.renewables/rea_issues/wind.html), or www.windpower.com for additional wind power market information.
Additional sources:
Biomass
Environmentally sustainable power generation in remote areas has been demonstrated using plentiful, renewable sources and surplus materials, such as agricultural waste (coffee hulls, rice hulls, etc.), vehicle tires, or saw dust. Some of these technologies turn waste into energy-dense fuels using heat, the source of which is the same biomass undergoing conversion. Cellulosic ethanol has been in the news, but ethanol is not necessarily advantageous as a fuel; we prefer molecules that start to resemble petroleum in their complexity and power. Three ventures are making progress in this regard in California alone; ask us for examples.
Conservation
Conservation is not the same as efficiency. Better conductors Superconductivity technologies produce significant gains in energy efficiency, thereby conserving all types of source fuels. A breakthrough has occurred in room-temperature superconductor polymers.
- View venture's Cover Letter and Executive Summary for registered investors only.
Fuel Cells, Hybrid Technology, Hydroelectric, and other trends
Hydrogen fuel cells, Ocean Currents, Low-emission and Closed-loop Natural Gas, Small-scale HydroElectric, and others are coming. Like solar and wind, they all deliever the additional advantage of distributed power generation: affordable electricity can be made available to remote areas and developing communities that would otherwise be without it. For example, diesel fuel is used to power generators in many parts of the world, with toxic results. Small-scale power from clean sources bypasses the need to sacrafice the environment for the conveniences of electricity.
Segment Growth and Trends
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| Solar Photovoltaics |
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| Fuel Cells |
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| Hybrid & Fuel Cell |
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| Microturbines |
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| Wind Power |
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| *Estimated |
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Why Oil Stocks Are Cold, and Renewable Energy Is Hot
You might call it the "tobacco effect," when an entire industry suffers financially because of social concerns. Latest victim: the oil industry.
"Just as the tobacco industry has been clobbered with civil judgments, so the fossil fuel industry may soon be facing damaging consequences for atmospheric pollution," wrote environmental investing expert Jackson Robinson, in Winslow Environmental News. "And already, the threat may be impacting the industry's performance in the stock market."
Mentioning the recent New York state lawsuit against 17 coal-burning plants, Robinson said similar plants are prime candidates for lawsuits. Power plants emit one-third of nitrous oxide (NOX) emissions, considered a contributor to global warming. There is an "eerie resemblance," Robinson noted, between the fossil fuel industry's denial of global warming, and tobacco companies' denial of the health effects of cigarettes. "Keeping in mind the negative impact of litigation on tobacco stocks, we believe it makes sense to avoid the hydrocarbon group, especially those that are strongly opposed to the clean air Kyoto Protocol initiatives," he advised investors. As the accompanying chart shows, it looks like the market agrees with him.
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"Beyond the recent hype, we see real, sustainable global demand for more efficient sources of power," said Lisa Leff, Vice-President and Portfolio Manager for Boise, Idaho-based Trillium Investment Management Corporation. "The investment community has begun to realize there's enormous potential value in these emerging alternative technologies."
View the press release, “Smart Money Eyeing Advances in Clean Energy,” regarding the April 3-5, 2000 Symposium on Clean Energy: The Next High Tech Revolution, in Seattle, WA
See also 
The American Council for
an Energy-Efficient Economy, a nonprofit organization dedicated to
advancing energy efficiency as a means of promoting both economic prosperity
and environmental protection
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