By Paul Chong         Sunday, 6 December 2009

Harnessing free & renewable energy

Freeing the world of climate-change tragedy

Wind Turbines

They say that if you want to strike it rich, you’ve got to know exactly where to be — and when. The Economist notes that many of today’s top businessmen and investors now believe that “alternative energy will be the basis of a boom bigger than information technology.”

Bill Gates, Microsoft Founder, is undoubtedly the pioneer investor in computer technology. He recognised the PC would revolutionise information technology and built unprecedented wealth for those who got in early. Now he sees the same thing happening with wind energy.

Another great astute investor to follow would be Warren Buffett whose patented methodology of growing shareholder value to a T . . . is also quick on the trail of wind energy. Warren Buffett, who has always preached, “Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.”

You’ve just got to know what the megatrend is . . . who’s got the visionary management . . . and who’s in the right place at the right time . . .

On the technological front, General Electric, an iconic brand, sold $8 billion worth of wind turbines this year. And it would, more or less, have to pack on another $170 billion just for its shares — and your investment dollars — to double in value.

Close-up of Wind Turbine

In the US, according to the Department of Energy, North Dakota, known as “The Saudi Arabia of Wind”, alone has enough wind capacity to generate over a quarter of US electricity needs. No wonder North Dakota’s wind-generation capacity has soared from a mere 0.5 megawatts in 2004 to over 345 megawatts today. That’s almost a 70,000% increase. Governor John Hoeven recently announced that, all told, capacity will soon hit 2,500 megawatts “with more on the way.”

Forward-thinking investors should not be wary about the obscurity of the technology nor of the companies. Great strides have been made in the field going beyond efficiency & maintenance of wind turbines. Below are examples of some pretty obscure companies which were the top ten performing stocks from 1998 – 2007:

Celgene Quality Systems Southwestern Energy Deckers Outdoor Green Mountain Coffee Roasters

Amedisys Hansen Natural Almost Family Clean Harbors FTI Consulting

Over those 10 years, they earned forward-thinking investors anywhere between a fortune-making 2,623% and an absolutely mind-blowing 7,064%.

BTM Consult — the world’s foremost wind-energy experts — report that since 2004, China’s wind market has grown at a mind-blowing 93%-per-year clip, and that China is making remarkable progress in building up its own wind industry.

Wind Prospect

As part of its “5-Year Plan” for economic development, the Chinese government recently earmarked $65 billion for investment in the country’s medium voltage electricity network.

And China’s Ministry of Machinery has very strict regulations that require all the medium voltage transformers in public buildings to be made of cast resin. Not to mention cast-resin transformers require only a fraction of the maintenance and upkeep of their oil-based predecessors.

Wind-energy will be the technology

Obscurity breeds prosperity