FLIR: Another Dividend-Paying Energy Efficiency Stock
Tom Konrad CFA FLIR Systems' (FLIR) IR cameras save energy not just by spotting leaks, but by spotting intruders in the dark. When I published my list of dividend paying energy efficiency stocks in January, I missed one, and it is a long-time favorite. FLIR Systems (FLIR) business is focused around thermography, and I picked FLIR as a stock likely to benefit from the stimulus in March 2009 because FLIR's cameras are used by energy raters. FLIR did benefit from the stimulus, rising 56% by the end of 2009 from the $21 price when I...
Orion Energy Systems: Seeing The Light
by Debra Fiakas CFA On Monday Orion Energy Systems (OESX: NYSE) issued a press release to reiterate previous guidance for sales in the quarter ending March 2015. Given that the quarter has already ended, it is more like a pre-announcement of results than guidance. At any rate management has indicated the results, when finally reported will bring sales for the fiscal year ending March 2015, to some point in a range of $72 million to $74 million. The announcement might not be so much motivated by a need to assure shareholders of financial performance, as much as...
What A Portfolio Approach To Climate Policy Means for Your Stock Portfolio
Portfolio theory can lend insights into which carbon abatement strategies policymakers should pursue. If policymakers listen, what will it mean for green investors? Tom Konrad, Ph.D., CFA Good Info, Not Enough Analysis I've now read most of my review copy of Investment Opportunities for a Low Carbon World. The quality of the information is generally excellent, as Charles has described in his reviews of the Wind and Solar and Efficiency and Geothermal chapters. As a resource on the state of Cleantech industries, it's generally excellent. As an investing resource, however, it leaves something to be desired. Each chapter is written...
Canadian Municipality Saves Taxpayers $8 million Using Itron Enterprise Energy Management Software
Itron Inc. (ITRI) announced that the Region of Peel (ROP), a municipality near Toronto, Canada, has saved its residents more than $8 million by using their energy management software tools to reduce energy costs and operate its numerous facilities more efficiently.
The Spray Foam Industry: Moving to Soy?
by Scott Schnelle As an energy consultant for home retrofits, I often have customers and acquaintances ask my opinion regarding green technologies and energy efficient products. Undoubtedly, with the recent surge of the green movement and a shift toward becoming more environmentally sustainable, now is a great time to invest in these types of products. One product that has been getting more and more attention lately is spray foam. The product itself has been around for many years, but it has recently risen in popularity for a couple of reasons. Here, I’ll discuss spray foam briefly...
Geothermal Heat Pump Stocks
Geothermal heat pumps (GHP), also know as Geoexchange, or ground-source heat pumps have been recognized by both the Environmental Protection Agency and the US Department of Energy as the most efficient and environmentally friendly way to heat and cool a building available. The downside of GHPs has always been the large up-front cost associated with the cost of the ground loop. With Obama promising a massive energy efficiency overhaul of federal buildings, the up-front cost is unlikely to be important so long as the expected returns on the investment are sufficient to pay for the upgrade. Since geothermal...
Wal-Mart Goes Green: The World’s First Quintuple Play
Jim Fitzpatrick Watching baseball's first quadruple play was strange. Seeing Wal-Mart (WMT) go green is stranger still. First the baseball: The scene was a game of T-Ball, where everyone bats every inning, regardless of the number of outs. The bases were loaded when a line drive ended up in the glove of the pitcher. While he wondered how it got there, all the runners took off without tagging up. The pitcher ran to third, then second, then first. We kept counting the number of outs and they did not add up. First in our heads:...
Atlantica Q1, Buying Hannon Armstrong
By Tom Konrad, Ph.D., CFA
Here are two more updates from last week on Patreon. Also, I realize I neglected to publish the monthly performance chart for my 10 Clean Energy Stocks model portfolio here at the start of the month, so here it is as well:
Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure Earnings
(published May 11th)
Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure (AY) released its first quarter earnings announcement and financial statements on May 6th.
Atlantica is one of the higher yielding Yieldcos, 5.3% at the new quarterly dividend rate of $0.43 and a $32.50 stock price. The dividend is safe, since most of Atlantica's debt is fixed rate,...
GE’s big bet on natural gas
Marc Gunther General Electric Co. (GE) is betting big on natural gas. The $150-billion a year company, whose power plants generate about one-fourth of the world’s electricity, today announced a new natural-gas power plant that it says is more efficient and flexible than any other in the market. By phone from Paris, where the announcement was made, Steve Bolze, president of GE Power & Water, told me: “This is about transforming the industry over the next five or 10 years.” GE says it invested more than $500 million in the new plant development. It will be manufactured in...
Energy Efficiency with Solid State Lighting (LED)
As I mentioned in a previous post (and also a purchase of LSGP.ob), I have become very interested in the potential investment opportunities in companies that are involved in the conversion of typical halogen and incandescent lighting over to solid state lighting (i.e. LED.) With that said, I wanted to pull back the curtain to show you my process and thinking when I enter a new investment space. The potential returns for the companies in this space can be quite large over the next 10 years. Many municipalities and large corporations are looking at the potential...
How to Build a Cleantech Company Without Huge Investment Capital: A Case Study
David Gold While many cleantech companies require very large amounts of capital in order to get to market, there is a quiet group of cleantech companies bucking that trend. Companies like Heartland Biocomposites (Green Building Materials), RealTech (Water Testing) and TerraLUX (LED Lighting) all built significant and growing businesses with compelling intellectual property and did so initially without multi-millions in capital from venture funds (let alone tens or hundreds of millions). Because TerraLUX is one of our portfolio companies and I therefore know them best, their story is one I am able to share. TerraLUX boasts...
FLIR: A Red-hot Energy Efficiency Stock
On Monday, I wrote that I wouldn't buy a house without an energy audit. For now, I'm in the minority, but I don't expect that to last. Each of these trends is likely to lead to more homes getting energy audits: Rising energy costs: as energy prices rise, knowing what to do to improve your home's energy efficiency will become more valuable. Weak real estate market. Now that the boom is past us, new home builders need to put more effort into providing and advertising a quality product in order to attract buyers and stay in business. ...
Dividend-Paying Energy Efficiency Stocks
Tom Konrad CFA Clean energy investing is not on for growth investors, traders, and speculators. Conservative income investors can invest in green companies as well, and dividend paying energy efficiency stocks deserve pride of place in their portfolios. In my clean energy investing workshops, I tell attendees that investing in clean energy stocks does not have to be riskier than investing in any other sector. The key to investing in clean energy with a low risk profile is the same as low risk investing in any other sector: find stable, profitable companies selling at reasonable valuations. ...
DIY Energy Audit, and Energy Star Summit Stocks
Last week, I attended the 2007 Energy Star Summit to keep up with what is going on in home energy efficiency, and, with luck, find a new public company or two to recommend. After several workshops for home energy raters, I came away with an idea for an article to help people concerned about home safety and efficiency look for new places to live. Because it was off-topic for Alternative Energy Stocks, I offered it to my friend Preston at Jetson Green, and he has published it here. Back on the subject of financial (As opposed to real-estate)...
This ‘Green’ Sector May Grow 573% to $37.7 Billion by 2020 – And the...
Bill Paul Nobody knows the alternative energy landscape better than Clint Wheelock, whose firm, Pike Research, generates in-depth research on everything from smart meters to carbon capture and sequestration. Now here’s a forecast deserving of far wider attention than it has so far received: by 2020 total revenue generated by energy services companies (ESCOs) could hit $37.7 billion, up a monstrous 573% over 2009’s $5.6 billion. At a minimum, Wheelock expects ESCOs’ revenue to hit $19.9 billion by 2020, a 255% increase. In an exclusive interview last week, Wheelock explained that as much as demand...
Clean Energy Stocks Shopping List: Five Energy Efficiency Stocks
Stocks may be expensive now, but they won't be forever. Five energy efficiency plays to buy when they're cheap again in efficient HVAC, desalination, thermal imaging, and lighting. Tom Konrad, Ph.D., CFA This article continues my Clean Energy Stocks Shopping List series. In the first, I looked at five clean transport stocks I'll be looking to buy when the market falls. In the second, I took a step back, and outlined why it makes sense to wait for better prices than to buy these companies now. Here are five stocks I'll be looking to buy in my all time...
