Alternative Energy Stocks

Last week ethanol producer Green Plains (GPRE:  Nasdaq) reported financial results for the quarter ending June 2018.   As expected the company reported a net loss, but actual results were far better than expected.  The news gave traders a reason to celebrate with bids that led to a gap higher at the opening on the first day of trading following the announcement.  Cooler heads came into the market as the day wore on and the stock closed below the open on heavy volume. Nonetheless, the stock finished the week higher and appears prepared to challenge lines of volume-related price resistance in the trading sessions ahead.    There may...

Alternative energy power production stocks are companies whose main business is the production and sale of electricity from alternative energy installations, such as solar farms, wind farms, hydroelectric generators, geothermal plants, cogeneration facilities, and nuclear plants. This list was last updated on 9/11/2020. 7C Solarparken AG (HRPK.DE) Acciona, S.A. (ANA.MC, ACXIF) Atlantica Yield plc (AY) Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (AQN, AQN.TO) Avangrid, Inc. (AGR) Bluefield Solar Income Fund Ltd. (BSIF.L) Boralex (BLX.TO, BRLXF) Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (BEP) Capital Stage AG (CAP.DE) Edisun Power Europe AG (ESUN.SW) Elecnor, S.A. (ENO.MI) Foresight Solar Fund plc (FSFL.L) Global X YieldCo ETF (YLCO) Greencoat UK Wind PLC (UKW.L) Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. (INE.TO,INGXF) John Laing Environmental Assets Group Limited...

by Jim Lane For several years now we have seen a significant number of players pivoting from biofuels towards smaller but higher-value markets in chemicals, nutrition,  nutraceuticals, pharma, materials, flavorings, fragrances, cosmetics and more. We’ve reported on the proliferation of applications both in the Digest and in What’s Nuu? and indeed there’s been so much that’s Nuu, it’s been dizzying at times with all the spinning and twirling. Capital costs and policy uncertainty have played their part, but the foot on the pedal for many has been oil prices. The scale of operations to compete with oil prices in the 2014-2017 period...

Last week NextEra Energy, Inc. (NEE:  NYSE) broke ground on its newest wind power project.  The company plans to build 71 wind towers in Wayne County, northeastern Nebraska, outfitting each with General Electric (GE:  NYSE)turbines.  Called the Sholes Wind Energy Center, the wind farm will have a collective generating capacity near 160 megawatts and require $200 million in to build.  Construction is expected to begin in March 2019, to meet a December 2019 planned operational start. The Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) has already signed a twenty-year power purchase agreement with NextEra, making return on the Sholes project close to guaranteed.  OPPD is the twelfth largest public power utility in the...

by Tom Konrad, Ph.D., CFA Last week, I wrote that I'd taken a short position in Enphase Energy Inc. (ENPH). I have now closed out that position and don't intend to go short again. My decision to go short was based on four factors: I'm worried about risk in the overall market, and so am considering opportunistic short positions as a hedge. Prescience Point Capital Management released a report accusing Enphase of earnings manipulation. The report seemed well-researched from a purely accounting point of view. My favored indicator for avoiding companies which might be engaging in earnings manipulation, Beneish M-Score was...

by Daryl Roberts DC Fast Chargers (DCFCs) and Tesla superchargers are a key element in electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure that could facilitate wider adoption of EVs by enabling recharging that comes to resemble the time currently taken for gas station stops, and thereby reducing “range anxiety” for drivers. However, the pricing structure for electrical costs incurred at commercial DC fast chargers is currently prohibitive, because it includes a special fee called a “demand charge”. Rate design in a number of states includes this additional charge, based on the “peak rate” on electric power consumed in kW. In New York,...

Earlier this week Bion Environmental Technologies (BNET) received approval of a patent for its proprietary ammonia recovery process.  Bion’s technology converts livestock wastes into ammonium bicarbonate.  Patent protection in the U.S. paves the way for Bion to deliver an environmentally friendly chemical to the market at attractive profit margins. Ammonium bicarbonate is used for a variety of purposes from leavening to crop additives.   It is the fertilizer market that has caught Bion’s attention.  The company intends to ‘close the loop’ for the agricultural sector by helping livestock producers economically dispose of waste and then delivering a fertilizer for food crops that qualifies as organic. It is an attractive...

On July 25th,  Prescience Point Capital Management recently released a report accusing Enphase energy Inc. (ENPH) of earnings manipulation. Prescience is an investment manager with a reputation for strong short-side analysis. I was intrigued, and decided to investigate Prescience's claims for two reasons: I am generally concerned about overall market conditions, so adding a short position to my portfolio is attractive in the current market environment. As an analyst who specializes in clean energy stocks, I have suspected that Enphase would not survive much longer because I believe that its core technology is no longer the best solution for...

“The global economy likely faces an economic crash of horrible proportions in 2020, not for want of a nail but want of low-sulfur diesel fuel,” writes renowned energy analyst Phil Verleger in a note this month titled “$200 Crude, the Economic Crisis of 2020, and Policies to Prevent Catastrophe”. Not good timing for a White House re-election effort if, as expected, the blame falls on lack of preparedness in the 2017-2020 run-up to the projected crisis.. It’s a dire scenario but there’s hard data behind it, and though few go as far as Verleger, almost every expert is warning of a...

by Jim Lane As most know by now, the US and China have fired opening salvos in a trade war, with the US targeting a range of commodities including steel and aluminum, and China retaliating with, to date, stiff tariffs on a range of agricultural products, but primarily hitting soybeans and corn because of the volume of trade in those agricultural goods. Overall, China imports $24 billion of agricultural goods from the US and is a leading export market for the US. The trade wars prompted North Dakota farmer Kevin Skunes, president of the National Corn Growers Association, to state: “Farmers are...

Companies that rock the boat often end up leading the way for others. While some companies have paved the way for road transportation and others reached high in the sky for aviation, there are some big boats out there that are also looking for alternative renewable fuels. Here are some companies that are answering the call for the maritime and shipping sectors with viable biofuel alternatives, the technologies and innovations, the rough waves that still lie ahead, and how they can reach that destination on the horizon. Gevo and Butanol We start with Gevo (GEVO) and their butanol. Why butanol? It...

by Jim LaneIn Washington, new evidence has appeared that a Trump Administration shift on US low carbon fuel policy may have cost US corn growers an estimated $3.65 billion. The mechanism? A secretive effort by Administration officials installed at the US Environmental Protection Agency that destroyed an estimated 1.37 billion gallons of annual demand for low-carbon renewable fuels, in favor of fossil fuels. Officials at the agency exploited a loophole in US low carbon fuel legislation that allows small oil refineries to gain hardship waivers in cases of severe distress from complying in full with US low carbon fuel laws.  Now, evidence...

The post Yellow Cake Debut described the capital raising effort of one of the newest players in the uranium supply chain.  Yellow Cake leadership brought the aspiring intermediary to the capital market at a critical time for uranium producers.  The uranium market has been in an extended trough period since the industry peak in 2007.  At that time considerable development had been undertaken and capacity was beginning to generate sufficient supply to create stockpiled inventories.  As this bloated condition persisted, in 2011 the nuclear power and its uranium supply chain were shocked by a Pacific Ocean tsunami that led to a nuclear spill at...

Pollution control stocks are publicly traded companies whose business involves technologies for removing or reducing the emissions of harmful pollutants, contaminants, and/or waste from human activity, or removing these pollutants from the environment or water. This article was last updated on 6/25/2020. Advanced Emissions Solutions, Inc. (ADES) Advanced Disposal Services (ADSW) Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. (BW) Bion Environmental Technologies (BNET) Biorem Inc. (BRM.V, BIRMF) Casella Waste Systems (CWST) CECO Environmental Corp. (CECE) CDTi Advanced Materials, Inc. (CDTI) Clearsign Combustion Corp. (CLIR) CO2 Solutions, Inc. (CST.V, COSLF) Donaldson Company, Inc. (DCI) Ecolab, Inc. (ECL) EcoSphere Technologies, Inc. (ESPH) Euro Tech Holdings (CLWT) Fuel Tech (FTEK) iPath Global Carbon ETN (GRN) OriginClear (OCLN) Pacific Green Technologies Inc. (PGTK) Republic Services,...

by Debra Fiakas, CFA Investors have a new opportunity for a stake in nuclear power.  Last week a successful initial offering was staged by a new player in the uranium supply chain.  Yellow Cake, plc. (YCA: LON) sold 76 million shares at £200 per share, raising £151 million (US$200 million). Uranium Participation Corporation (U:  TO)took US$25 million of the deal, giving the Canada-based uranium speculator a 16% stake in the company.  Yellow Cake is listed on AIM under the symbol YCA.  In its third day of trading the stock closed up 1.25% from its debut. Yellow Cake means to be a player in the uranium market, buying and...

by Jim Lane Last month, Amyris (AMRS) and Chevron (CVX) announced that Novvi and Chevron have entered into an agreement to jointly develop and bring to market novel renewable base oil technologies. Novvi is Amyris’ JV with Cosan (CZZ) to produce targeted hydrocarbon molecules from plant sugar for automotive, industrial, marine, and construction applications at unbeatable economics. Think lubricants for engines and machines. Since launching its first commercial production in 2014, Novvi has been steadily increasing its base oil production to keep up with robust and growing demand for a variety of automotive, marine and industrial applications. Meanwhile, Chevron has one of...