BullMarket.com Publishes Green Energy Special Report (AMSC, HXL, ORA, FCEL, CVA, WM, CLNE)

Not many investments have the appeal of green/alternative energy. The industries within this broad field bring with them the promise of revolution and innovation, as well as a lot of green for investors who jump on early for the ride. However, there are many competing technologies out there, and what, if any, industries or companies will be winners in the long run is still very much in the air.

In a new 30-page special report, BullMarket.com takes an in-depth look at various green energy sectors including wind, geothermal, ethanol and biofuels, nuclear, CNG, solar, fuel cells and batteries, waste to energy, and the smart grid.

Among the stocks covered in the report include American Superconductor (AMSC), Hexcel (HXL), Ormat Technolgies (ORA), FuelCell Energy (FCEL), Covanta Holdings (CVA), Waste Management (WM), Clean Energy (CLNE), and others.

Here is a short exert:

Wind is among the world’s oldest power sources. At its most basic level, wind has propelled boats since the first boats with sails were put to sea. The Chinese used early forms of windmills in 200 B.C. to pump water and grind grain. The Dutch refined their use for the purpose of draining water from lakes and marshes and exported the idea to North America. Now the focus has been on using wind to generate electricity.

People have been trying one degree or another in earnest to develop the wind energy market since the OPEC oil embargo of the 1970s; the most recent highly publicized push came from Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens, who promoted his “Pickens Plan” for energy independence prior to the 2008 presidential election. One of his ideas was to turn the Great Plains into a giant wind farm.

The American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) supplied over $1.5 billion towards wind energy projects in 2009. According to the Wind Energy Association (yes, there is such a thing), at least 37 different projects were funded last year.

Wind turbine manufacturing, however, has fallen behind 2008 levels according to the WEA. The trade group advocates adoption of a national Renewable Energy Standard to spur additional investment. The House passed such a standard, but the Senate has yet to act, which is no surprise given the gridlock that the healthcare debate generated.

Globally, China is also making a big investment in wind power, tripling its target for wind power capacity to 100 gigawatts by 2020. If successful, China would become the world’s biggest wind energy market. In addition to vast wind power facilities in its arid north and northwest regions, China is building wind farms off its eastern and southern coasts.

The country is the world’s second-largest energy producer, but is trying to wean itself off a dependency on coal and the greenhouse gasses and other pollutants associated with it.

American Superconductor develops products to enhance the operation of electric power grids. It has a large presence in the wind energy market, but also makes products designed to make traditional power grids more robust and efficient. The Massachusetts-based company operates in two segments: Power Systems and Superconductors.

The Power Systems segment produces power converters and systems for the utility, industrial, and wind markets, and provides licensed wind energy system designs. Its power electronic products do such things as regulate wind-farm voltage so that their power output can be connected to an established power grid. Regulating the integration of wind-source power into the grid is a key challenge to the industry’s growth.

The Superconductors segment makes what is known as high temperature superconductor (HTS) wire and coils; designs and develops other HTS products such as power cables, fault current limiters, and rotating machines; and manages HTS projects, such as HTS power cable system design, manufacturing, and installation. This segment sells its HTS wire to original equipment manufacturers that incorporate HTS wire into value-added products for electric utilities, ship integrators, and industrial end-users.

The concept of superconductivity was discovered in 1911, but it was the discovery of a new ceramic material in 1986 that could be used for HTS wire that made the technology feasible for commercial applications. Superconductors are defined as a material that when cooled below certain temperatures — cryogenic cooling is required — will conduct electricity with zero resistance, something that isn’t possible with traditional copper wires. As the website superconductor.org puts it, “electrical current will flow forever in a closed loop of superconducting material — making it the closest thing to perpetual motion in nature.”

According to American Superconductor, HTS wires can conduct up to 150 times more power than conventional copper wires of the same dimension, which makes their attractiveness to utility operators obvious. In addition, copper wire tends to lose resistance and break down over a period of 20 years or so, which doesn’t happen with HTS wire. The company says its HTS wiring requires less cooling than other materials.

American Superconductor was founded in 1987 by two professors of material sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. One of those professors, Gregory Yurek, serves as president, CEO, and chairman.

A daily investment service that identifies winning long-term growth, value, and income stocks, BullMarket.com’s Recommended List of stocks outperformed the S&P 500 by nearly 15% in 2008, was up 40% in 2009, and is up 8.6% through the end of March in 2010. BullMarket.com is publishing a a 30- page special report on green/alternative today that will be available for free to all subscribers. Sign up for a free trial today and receive actionable market commentary, real-time trade alerts, access to 40+ high-quality recommended stocks, and the high-yield special report.

Tags: AMSC, CLNE, CVA, FCEL, HXL, ORA, WM