By Jeff Siegel
Tonight, I will welcome in the New Year with family.
We’ll feast on cured meats, pickled vegetables, and lamb neck stew.
We’ll sip an old fashioned or two with apple and sage, share some laughs, and maybe even shed a few tears as we remember those we lost in 2014.
When the ball drops, we’ll hug, kiss, and cheer on all that waits to be discovered in 2015.
There will be good and there will be bad, but I suppose it’s the uncertainty of it all that makes life worth living.
Don’t Fear the Uncertain
It was Joseph Campbell who said, “The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.”
I’ve always loved that quote.
Whenever I need a little push before venturing off on a new path, I remind myself of that quote. And I wanted to share it with you today because as we head in to 2015, it seems as if fear is weighing on our collective shoulders more than ever.
This is a shame, since we really don’t know how 2015 will unfold. And until something horrible actually happens, it’s really nothing more than an illusion.
Of course, it’s easy to say something like this, but it doesn’t change the fact that there are a lot of horrible things that could happen this year.
War, terrorism, plagues, environmental catastrophes, starvation you name it. All of these threats are very real and cannot be ignored.
But we can’t live our lives fearful of the outcome. Because if we do, we can’t live. And if we can’t live, we can’t prosper.
A Profitable Year
In 2015, bad things will happen.
I suspect the tension between Russia and the U.S. will increase. The death toll from all these wars in the Middle East will rise. Rights will be trampled, waters will be poisoned, and taxpayers will continue to be pilfered like newlyweds at a timeshare presentation in Vegas.
But there are also a lot of great things that’ll happen this year especially for energy investors.
With the gutting of oil prices, the laggards in the oil and gas production space are going to go belly-up, and the small fish are going to get gobbled up by the sharks. This will shake out the losers and make it much easier for us to identify the winners over the long term.
New technological developments are going to push solar and electric car batteries to places we’ve never dreamed.
Solar installation costs will continue to fall dramatically, making it even more affordable for consumers and more lucrative for solar companies like SolarCity (NASDAQ: SCTY), Vivint Solar (NYSE: VSLR), and SunEdison (NYSE: SUNE).
Cost reductions for electric car batteries will continue, while the quality of those batteries will increase. In fact, Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) just recently announced a new upgrade for its Roadster that will push its all-electric range to 400 miles.
Folks, three years ago, such a thing would’ve been little more than a pipe dream. Yet it’s available right now.
Internationally, nuclear power will continue to be developed and expanded, particularly in China, India, and the Middle East. It’s going to be a great year for uranium!
So enjoy your last remaining hours of 2014. Drink some champagne, eat good food, and spend time with your family and friends. But most importantly, get ready…
Because 2015 is going to be busy, loud, and very, very profitable.
To a new way of life and a new generation of wealth…
Jeff Siegel is Editor of Energy and Capital, where this article was first published.
