With the Obama administration just weeks away from move in day, there are quite a few articles out there being written about ways to play the coming infrastructure and green energy boom. Much has been made of Obama’s plan to decrease our dependence on foreign oil and to a lesser degree, plans to spend big on infrastructure. Certainly infrastructure and green energy will be two big themes over the next 4 years and possibly beyond, so it pays to pay attention on those companies that stand to benefit the most.
There is a good article over at Seeking Alpha from David Fessler of Investment U who discusses a few possibilities. I completely agree with him that oil prices this low present a dangerous situation in that supply destruction will far exceed demand destruction at an accelerated pace once this economy turns around. If the government gets complacent and doesn’t really push for green energy at the same time oil companies give up on once profitable oil fields, we could be looking at $200 oil in 5 – 10 years easy. What this global economic meltdown does is buy our government more time to get these technologies off the ground. The opportunity better not be wasted. .. the good news is Obama seems to understand this.
Wind and solar are certainly the most prominent sources of alternative energy now and should continue to be in the near future while emerging technologies such as geothermal and wave energy continue to progress. Mr. Fessler calls the coming boom the Green New Deal, in reference to Roosevelt’s New Deal following the Great Depression.
His favorite plays are:
Owens Corning (OC): makers of insulated glass and building insulation; also material provider for wind turbines
General Electric (GE): wind turbines, energy control, infrastructure products
Johnson Controls (JCI): energy management for buildings & vehicles, electric vehicle batteries
First Solar (FSLR): thin film solar & my #1 solar play as well
Ormat Technologie (ORA): geothermal
Vestas Wind Systems (VWSYF.PK): my #1 wind play too
ABB Ltd. (ABB): electric grid infrastructure
Of course you can get all the plays in wind, solar, electric cars, nuclear, green building, recycling and biofuels in the tracking pages above! Focus on those companies with the best RS ratings and DI scores and you will do just fine.