That Polyanna of energy price prediction, the International Energy Agency (IEA), issued a new report today which, while it still does not acknowledge peak oil, predicts a supply crunch in the 2010-12 time range.

Despite four years of high oil prices, this report sees increasing market tightness beyond 2010, with OPEC spare capacity declining to minimal levels by 2012,” the IEA said in its Medium-Term Oil Market Report, which is published every six months. “Low OPEC spare capacity and slow non-OPEC production growth are of significant concern

I was blown away… as were most energy stocks today. Big movers among stocks I’ve mentioned recently:

Beacon Power (BCON) up 24%

Lighting Science (LSGP) up 28%

M~Wave (Blue Sun Biodiesel) (MWAV) up 13%

Satcon (SATC) up 18%

As usual, moves in Renewable Energy companies are driven by changes in oil price sentiment, even if they are involved in electricity, which is not (yet) a substitute for oil.  If investors were truly rational (they’re far from it), only M~Wave would have seen a big move today.  Although true rationality would have seen none of these moves, because most of us know that the IEA won’t see peak oil coming until it’s about five years in the rear view mirror.

Links:

Article from Bloomberg

Reuters Article

DISCLOSURE: Tom Konrad and/or his clients have positions in these companies mentioned here: BCON, LSGP, MWAV, SATC.

DISCLAIMER: The information and trades provided here are for informational purposes only and are not a solicitation to buy or sell any of these securities. Investing involves substantial risk and you should evaluate your own risk levels before you make any investment. Past results are not an indication of future performance. Please take the time to read the full disclaimer here.

The post IEA wakes up and smells the Peak Oil appeared first on Alternative Energy Stocks.

Here is a round-up of some news and information I have come across in my readings: Venture Capital in Alternative Energy Rob May at CleanTechVC made a great post about venture capital investments in energy technologies.Here are some excerpts from his post:

• US energy technology VC investments are at $1.7B so far in 2006 compare this with $0.9B for all of 2005
• solar tech has received more than 10% of all energy technology VC investments so far this year. Interestingly, while investments in fuel cell technology have been generally flat or dropping over the past year, battery-related investments have been growing very quickly.
• ethanol-related VC investments have received more than $400mm, or just about one quarter of all energy tech investment
• other fuels-related investment areas biodiesel, fuels-related biotech, and new drive train technologies have collectively received less than $100mm so far this year. Such investments clearly are not receiving the same level of attention in the rush to invest in ethanol-related opportunities.

New Materials in the Solar Industry Tyler Hamilton at Clean Break points us to an article at News.com about change in materials in solar industry. Today, 90% of solar panels today are made from crystalline silicon. A group of new companies, (NanoSolar, HelioVolt, and Miasoleccount) believe that CIGS-based (copper indium gallium selenide) thin film cells cost less to produce and are easier to install. I could not find any of the companies mentioned as being publicly traded yet but they certainly deserve being watched. Texas Invests 10 Billion in Wind Power Clean Edge has a press release of 10 Billion Wind Energy Partnership. Very interesting and encouraging but I must say the press release was thin on details of how the money would be spent. There was a statement in there that reads “over the next 20 years”. By averaging this out , this would be approximately 500 million a year. No small amount. A couple of interesting tidbits from that release:

• Texas has abundant wind energy, particularly in West Texas and along the gulf cost.
• earlier this summer Texas surpassed California as the nation’s leader in wind generation capacity

Energy Conversion Devices Review at Motley Fool A couple of weeks back, The Motley Fool did had a critical article about Energy Conversion Devices, ENER. Stehpen Ellis, the author gives Energy Conversion devices a 1 out of 6 for execution in market areas outlined in 2001. He backs up his view with revenue and income numbers which is always a plus. Battery-Powered Harley TreeHugger has short piece on an electric Harley. The bike goes up to 60 miles powered by a huge, 560 pound battery and has a side car which holds a battery-recharging biodiesel generator. Yeah, it’s big but technology has to start somewhere. Getting the size of the battery and side car down will certainly improve efficiency. Carl Vogel of Vogelbilt has said he would like to start producing electric motorcycles by 2007.

The post A Round-Up of Alternative Energy News appeared first on Alternative Energy Stocks.

Jeff, one of our readers alerted me to an announcement that is definitley worth sharing. Hydrogen Engine Center, Inc., one of the stocks (HYEG) on the stocks page made an announcement that they will be working with Sawtelle & Rosprim to design and build the world’s first Ammonia Fueled Irrigation Pump System. This is intended to help California meet its new emissions requirements scheduled to go into effect in 2010. Hydrogen Engine Center, (HEC), is building a prototype system based on HEC’s ammonia-fuelled engines and Sawtelle’s pumps. They want to test the prototype for the California irrigation season in 2007 and if all goes well, they are hope to sell the system to California in 2008. A few other interesting things from that press release: