Category Archives: Energy

Capture the Next Big Trend in Solar Energy

I don’t know what I’d do without electricity. Honestly, I start to get bored after about 30 minutes.

And the thought of there being only 40 years of coal resources left to power our world is pretty terrifying.

But that’s just me.

In today’s world, electricity is one of the most important resources we have. It powers almost every single business around, and about 83% of people around the globe depend on it every day.

And while most have realized how finite resources such as coal are, we’re finally starting to move to the next step: solar.

There have been huge gains in the use of solar energy, but there is a new tech in development that could change the collection of solar energy…

A Shining Source of Energy

Humanity has literally had the answer to all of the global power needs staring down at them the entire time. That would be the sun.

Obviously, it’s a powerful resource. It can damage our skin or blind us from 93 million miles away.

But what people are just starting to realize is that we could power the entire world by harnessing its energy.

Here are two statistics to put this in perspective:

Statistic No. 1: The amount of power from the sun that hits the earth in one hour in direct sunlight is enough to meet the power needs for the entire world for a whole year.

Statistic No. 2: The total harness-able potential of solar energy per year is 23,000 terawatts. The yearly need for the whole world per year is about 16 terawatts. In comparison, we have 900 terawatts of coal and 215 terawatts of natural gas left.

Here’s an image to get the point across:

global energy

Thankfully, we have made significant progress in harnessing this abundant energy resource.

Currently, there are a number of projects going on around the world to phase solar power in to the primary source of energy that we would use.

The Next Advance in Solar Energy

New technology is in the works for solar windows as well.
These windows don’t look any different from normal windows, but they contain technology that can capture solar energy as well. Placed in homes and offices, they can provide an easy, alternative source of energy.

Solar window could be the future of solar technology. Instead a home covered in solar panels on the roof, the window are the solar collectors.

A breakthrough in this technology has occurred just this past June. Physee, a company in The Netherlands, installed 323 square feet of their “PowerWindow” solar window product in the headquarters of Rabobank, The Netherlands’ biggest bank.

In America, there’s a company called SolarWindow Technologies (OTC: WNDW) that is making significant progress in the field as well. Described as “liquid energy,” SolarWindow’s technology is a clear coating placed windows or plastic. When exposed to light, the coating turns that light into electricity.

So far, the product has been tested in 11 cities across the country, and the results have been amazing. The SolarWindow coating generated over 10 times that of other solar technology:

solarwindows

It’s also much cheaper than the cost of manufacturing solar panels. In fact, the company has stated that when applied to high-rise buildings, the product could pay for itself on electricity bill savings in just one year.

Lastly, SolarWindow took a huge step in August when it entered into an agreement with Triview Glass, allowing SolarWindow to start receiving revenue from actual customers.

Keep in mind that these are the very early stages of this technology, and while it has very little commercial application so far (and therefore no revenue); it will become more and more relevant over the next three to five years.

I believe it will eventually overtake solar panels due to the cost and efficiency benefits that it provides.

Regards,

Ian Dyer

Internal Analyst, Banyan Hill

Right now, an untapped ocean of energy—found underneath all 50 states—is about to transform the world’s energy industry. In fact, there’s enough of this energy in the first six miles of the earth’s crust to power the United States for the next 30,000 years. Wanna know this untapped energy source? Learn NOW! And as companies rush to extract this energy from the ground, they’ll need the help of one Midwestern company’s technology to make use of it. This is your chance to take advantage of John D. Rockefeller-type fortunes. Early Bird Gets The Worm...

Source: Banyan Hill 

Global Demand Is Surging for Renewable Energy

Health care. That’s the market that’s going to explode.

When I first started working in the financial industry a couple decades ago, that was the refrain I heard constantly.

All eyes were on the baby boomers. Numbering nearly 75 million, there were growing worries about their increased health needs.

We would need more doctors. More nurses. More physical therapists. More home health aides. More personal care aides.

And they were right.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that job growth for home health aides will swell by 46.7% from 2016 through 2026. Jobs for personal care aides are forecast to grow 37.4% during that same time frame.

 But there is one industry that is growing even faster, creating even more job opportunities. And more opportunities to profit…

Renewable Energy: The Booming Industry

Whether you believe that climate change is an important issue or a complete hoax, the fact remains that renewable energy is a growing market all around the globe.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that solar panel installers were projected to see job growth of 105.3% from 2016 to 2026.

There are approximately 260,000 Americans working in the solar industry.

As prices drop and technology continues to advance, more companies and even residents are going to flock to renewable energy.

In 2016, solar installations accounted for 39% of all new electricgenerating capacity, beating out all other tech for the first time ever. And for the first half of 2017, solar has accounted for 22% of all new capacity, coming in second to natural gas.

The U.S. has more than 47 gigawatts of total solar capacity now installed. This is enough to power 9.1 million homes.

Part of this phenomenal growth has come from the price of solar panels dropping. Since 2010, the cost to install solar panels has plunged more than 70%.

As prices drop and technology continues to advance, more companies and even residents are going to flock to renewable energy.

As installing solar panels has become more affordable, more residents have turned to it as a viable way to slash their energy bills and utilize a cleaner form of energy.

But solar isn’t the only renewable energy that’s creating a buzz of opportunities.

Wind Power Soars

Wind power is seeing significant growth as well. Wind turbine service technicians are expected to see job growth of 96.1% — double that of home health aides.

At the start of the month, WindEurope reported that European wind energy set a new record on October 28 after roughly 24.6% of the EU’s electricity demand was met by wind power. This was up from the previous record set earlier this year of 19.9%.

The late-October storm that sent German wind turbines spinning resulted in the creation of 39,409 megawatts. That’s the equivalent of 40 nuclear reactors.

In July, Scotland broke a record by generating the equivalent of 118% of the nation’s electricity for six days.

And New York is considering a plan for adding up to 40 turbines across 60 square miles with the expectation of generating 124 megawatts. That’s enough power to 20,000 homes.

New York’s wind power generation has grown from 48 megawatts in 2005 to 1,827 megawatts in 2017. However, it still lags behind Texas with its wind power capacity of 20,320 megawatts and Iowa’s 6,911 megawatts of wind power capacity.

The key thing is that there is still ample room for growth.

The Next Gem for Your Portfolio

As prices drop and technology continues to advance, more companies and even residents are going to flock to renewable energy as a source of power.

We are seeing more and more stories pop up regarding renewable energy farms and plants fueling our energy needs despite the falling prices of oil and natural gas.

Solar and wind power are on the rise.

But while wind and solar power frequently capture all the headlines, there is another source of renewable energy that is available just about everywhere around the globe and could see a massive boom in demand.

Profits Unlimited Editor Paul Mampilly has identified a key renewable energy technology that he believes could skyrocket investors to massive gains. Click here to read his special report.

When looking for new opportunities to grow your wealth, the renewable energy sector continues to provide excellent upside potential … and a lot less uncertainty than health care.

Regards,

Jocelynn Smith
Sr. Managing Editor, Sovereign Investor Daily

Right now, an untapped ocean of energy—found underneath all 50 states—is about to transform the world’s energy industry. In fact, there’s enough of this energy in the first six miles of the earth’s crust to power the United States for the next 30,000 years. Wanna know this untapped energy source? Learn NOW! And as companies rush to extract this energy from the ground, they’ll need the help of one Midwestern company’s technology to make use of it. This is your chance to take advantage of John D. Rockefeller-type fortunes. Early Bird Gets The Worm...

Buy These 3 High-Yield Stocks for the Coming Rebound in Energy

The energy infrastructure sector has continued to decline, even as the price of crude oil has climbed and stabilized. This sector is populated by the publicly traded master limited partnerships (MLPs) and corporations that for the most part function like their MLP brethren. Over the last three months, crude oil is up about 5%, yield the Alerian MLP Infrastructure Index (AMZI) has dropped by over 10%. If you like to invest in turn around candidates, there are strong signs that MLPs and related companies will start to turn higher in November.

Underlying energy infrastructure fundamentals look stable and expectations are that most MLPs have businesses continue to grow. In the second quarter, two-thirds of the AMZI component companies increased distributions, with the remainder keeping payouts level. For the third quarter, a pair of distribution cuts have been announced. These reductions are strategic versus signs of desperation. My forecast is that the majority of MLPs will announce distribution increases.

A further sign that fortunes in the MLP space are improving is that bond prices have risen even as equity values declined. This interesting piece of analysis comes from Yorkville Capital:

Year-to-date, the Alerian MLP Index has declined by 5.6%, including distributions this year. Meanwhile, Yorkville’s index of MLP and midstream debt has produced a positive total return of 5.8%. This means that either the equity markets are getting it wrong and the bond markets are getting it right – or the other way around.

Bond investors primary concern is that the underlying business is healthy and stable enough to ensure that they will continue to receive their semi-annual, or quarterly, coupon payments (and principal upon maturity). Therefore, the increasing prices of MLP bonds suggest that MLP businesses are getting less risky and more stable – not the other way around.

On September 27, 2017, Moody’s upgraded their global midstream outlook to “positive” from “neutral” reversing the downgrade they appropriately made in late 2015. Their report highlighted expectations for business fundamentals to improve over the coming 12-18 months and noted that upstream activity out of the E&P industry has ramped with rig counts having doubled off the 2016 lows. Moody’s’ expects midstream EBITDA growth of 8-10% in 2018.

The final puzzle piece of the puzzle for an MLP sector recovery is the possibility that the most recent value drop was due to tax selling. An MLP focused mutual fund, ETF or closed-end fund operates as a taxable corporation, so taking tax losses now can be used to offset future gains and lower future corporate income tax payments. The fiscal year for these funds ends on October 31. If tax selling is part of the cause of the recent down turn in MLP values, we can expect some price support in November.

Earnings season has just started for the energy infrastructure sector and results so far have been positive. If more MLPs and infrastructure corporations report strong third quarter results, the sector could really take off starting in November. Here are three companies with currently attractive dividend yields and the potential for much higher share or unit values.

Targa Resources Corp (NYSE: TRGP) engages in the following energy midstream services:

  • Gathering, compressing, treating, processing, and selling natural gas.
  • Storing, fractionating, treating, transporting, and selling NGLs and NGL products, including services to LPG exporters.
  • Gathering, storing, and terminalling crude oil.
  • Storing, terminalling, and selling refined petroleum products.

In February 2016, to simplify the business structure Targa Resources Corp. acquired all the outstanding common units of Targa Resources Partners LP (NYSE: NGLS) that it did not already own. The company continues to operate using the MLP model, but is a corporation. At the current $41 per share TRGP yields 9.0%. This stock could easily go over $50 in an MLP rally.

Enterprise Products Partners LP (NYSE: EPD) has a market cap more than $50 billion and is the largest MLP by enterprise value. The company’s business segments include:

  • NGL pipelines and services
  • Crude oil pipelines and services
  • Natural gas pipelines and services
  • Petrochemical and refined products services.

EPD has increased its distribution for 62 straight quarters. Unlike most MLPs, Enterprise Products Partners can fund most of its growth projects without issuing additional equity. This $24 MLP could quickly move to over $30. EPD yields 6.9%.

Valero Energy Partners LP (NYSE: VLP) is controlled by and provides pipeline, storage and terminal services to its sponsor, Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO). Through asset drops from Valero, the cash flow and distribution growth at VLP is very predictable. The VLP payments to investors will grow 25% in 2017 and at least by 20% in 2018, with high probability for 20% growth in future years. Now at $41, VLP could easily surpass its 52-week high of $51. The units currently yield 4.7%.

Owning a bit of the MLP sector should constitute a core part of any serious high-yield investor’s portfolio. And with the way trends appear for MLPs investors in those stocks will not only continue earning a steady stream of income but could very well enjoy considerable share price appreciation. It’s this type of strategy that I use with my new income system called The Monthly Dividend Paycheck Calendar.

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Source: Investors Alley

3 Renewable Energy Stocks Up Double Digits

Here is one item that surprised me a bit in the course of research project called the Singularity… After years of a lot of hype and false starts, the shift to renewable energy has finally begun to move ahead at a pace that has taken many by surprise.

2016 was a banner year for the sector. In a report, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said that renewables represented almost two-thirds of new net electricity capacity additions last year, with nearly 165 gigawatts (GW) coming online.

The IEA added that solar power was the fastest growing subsector, with generating capacity soaring by 50% in 2016 to over 74 GW. China accounted for almost half of the gain. The forecast from the IEA calls for another 660 gigawatts of solar power capacity to be added by 2022.

Even the biggest oil company in the world – Saudi Aramco – has taken notice. It called this disruptive macro trend a “global transformation” that is “unstoppable”.

These unstoppable macro trends are just the type of situations that spell profit opportunities for you. But before I get into some specific places for you to invest, let me fill you in more on what is driving the accelerated move into renewable energy.

Driver #1 – Corporations

One reason for the recent growth in renewable energy power generation is that major global multinationals are demanding it.

Just two weeks ago, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) agreed to buy all the electricity produced from a new wind farm in Ireland for the next 15 years. The wind farm is being built by General Electric (NYSE: GE) and will power Microsoft’s cloud computing services in the region.

This move will take Microsoft’s direct global procurement of renewable energy worldwide to nearly 600 megawatts. But it is hardly the only company taking such measures. Three weeks ago, Facebook (Nasdaq: FB)announced its plans for a new data center in Virginia would include power supplied by solar power facilities built by Dominion Energy (NYSE: D).

So far in 2017, U.S. companies have announced purchase agreements for two gigawatts of power. This number is sure to rise as over 100 (40+ in the U.S.) multinational companies have committed to make their electricity supplies 100% renewable.

Driver #2 – Emerging Economies

However, the real driver behind the rapid acceleration in renewable energy power generation comes from the emerging economies, led by China. As with telecommunications and financial services, the emerging world is bypassing the old technologies and moving straight into new technologies.

In many cases, renewable energy is now the cheapest form of new power generation for these countries. A study from Morgan Stanley pointed to the fact that the cost of solar power panels has fallen by more than 50% in less than two years, thanks largely to China. It added that in countries with favorable wind conditions, costs for wind power can be as low as one-half to one-third of natural gas or coal-fired power plants.

The leading alternative source of energy in the developing economies is solar power. Moody’s estimates that, by the end of the decade, emerging markets will be home to 353 gigawatts of solar power capacity – an increase of 2.6 times the 2015 levels.

While China will account for the majority of this increase, other developing regions of the globe are also participating. Moody’s says that, by the end of 2018, Latin America is scheduled to have installed 14 gigawatts of capacity (nearly five times more than 2015), the Middle East and Africa will also have installed 14 gigawatts (a seven-fold increase from 2015) and India will have added 28 gigawatts of solar power capacity (a jump of nearly six times).

The bottom line, according to the IEA, is that in 2022 renewables will have 30% of the global power market with a total growth in capacity of 920 gigawatts, again led by China, which has already accounted for 40% of the overall growth in renewable energy.

3 Ways to Invest in Renewable Energy

Unfortunately, some of the very best companies that are at the center of the renewable energy industry do not trade in the U.S. For example, the Danish firm Dong Energy (soon to be named Ørsted) is the world’s largest builder of offshore wind farms.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t make money with some U.S.-listed investments. For very broad exposure to the sector, there is the VanEck Vectors Global Alternative Energy ETF (NYSE: GEX). It is up a very nice 21% year-to-date and over 17% the past year.

The fund holds 31 securities across a broad spectrum of industries related to renewable energy. The companies in the fund must obtain at least half their revenues from the renewable energy industry. So, for example, Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) is in the fund. GEX does have a global flavor with about 57% invested in the U.S. and the rest globally.

For single stock exposure to solar power, a good choice is First Solar (Nasdaq: FSLR), which is also in GEX’s portfolio. The stock has gained nearly 48% year-to-date. The company is the leading global provider of solar energy solutions with more than 10 gigawatts of installed capacity.

The company’s revenues are split almost 50-50 between sales of solar modules (using its proprietary thin-film semiconductor technology) and services that provide complete solar power systems solutions including project development, construction, along with operation and maintenance. The latter is a source of recurring revenues.

While the U.S. market accounted for 83% of its revenues in 2016, First Solar is moving toward where the growth is. Almost 90% of its project pipeline in the latest quarter – 3 GW of mid-to-late-stage opportunities – comes from overseas. The geographic diversification is wide with orders from India as well as Latin America, Africa, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

Another possible way to play the rush to renewable energy is through a utility that is involved in the sector. One such example is NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG), which is the second-largest U.S. power producer and is expanding its renewable energy operations. Its stock has soared 113% year-to-date and is up 123% over the past 12 months. So even more than the double digits promised in the headline.

I like the fact that its CEO, Mauricio Gutierrez, gets it. He said in February that utility companies failing to change their business model would become “obsolete” thanks to the “unprecedented disruption” in the industry.

In the second quarter of 2017, NRG revenues from renewables came in at $126 million. That sounds small but the growth rate was impressive – up 22.3% year-over-year. In the third quarter, NRG signed a contract to sell power for 22 years from three solar projects to Hawaiian Electric.

The company is also involved, together with Japan’s JX Nippon Oil & Gas, in Petra Nova. This is the world’s largest post-combustion carbon-capture system. The unit is capable of capturing more than 5,000 tons of carbon dioxide daily. That is the equivalent of removing over 350,000 cars from the road.

Renewable energy is definitely a sector you want to invest in as it has finally moved past the hype stage and on to becoming a growing source of power in the real world. It’s just one part of a transformation in technology, society, lifestyle, and even life itself that’s happening all around us. I call this the Singularity.

The Singularity presents investors with the opportunity for a piece of the over $100 trillion growth over the next seven years from all of these changes. Growth for companies like First Solar and NRG mentioned above as well as many others you’ve probably never even heard of but will soon.

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Source: Investors Alley

My Recommendation Is Up 19% Since August. Did You Buy It?

Back on August 4, I told you that major oil companies were raking in record cash flows. Giants like BP (NYSE: BP) and Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS) made more cash in the first half of 2017 than they did in 2014, when oil was more than $100 per barrel.

However, one critical sector didn’t see the benefits of that cash flow at the time — oil service stocks.

At the time, Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB) had its best quarter since the end of 2015. Revenue and earnings spiked higher.

It was clear that these companies made it through the bear market. The fundamentals headed higher … but share prices just hadn’t moved yet.

As I told you in August, there was zero chance that the service companies will continue to fall if the major oil companies are making record gains. That’s exactly what happened in mid-August. Oil service companies bottomed, as you can see from the chart below:

As I told you in August, there was zero chance that the service companies will continue to fall if the major oil companies are making record gains.

The chart above is the VanEck Vectors Oil Services ETF (NYSE: OIH). It found a bottom at $21.76 per share in mid-August.

Since then, shares rose steadily. Today it trades at $25.84 per share. That’s a 19% gain in less than two months.

The price these companies charge oil companies is flexible. Oil service companies can raise their rates as their clients make more money.

The service companies, like the oil companies, took a huge hit in 2015 and 2016 as oil prices fell. Now rates are going back up. More earnings will drive the shares of these companies higher.

It’s still early in the game for oil services. If you haven’t gotten in yet, you have plenty of time to make some gains here.

Good investing,

Matt Badiali
Editor, Real Wealth Strategist

Right now, an untapped ocean of energy—found underneath all 50 states—is about to transform the world’s energy industry. In fact, there’s enough of this energy in the first six miles of the earth’s crust to power the United States for the next 30,000 years. Wanna know this untapped energy source? Learn NOW! And as companies rush to extract this energy from the ground, they’ll need the help of one Midwestern company’s technology to make use of it. This is your chance to take advantage of John D. Rockefeller-type fortunes. Early Bird Gets The Worm...

Source: Banyan Hill 

Quick Profits from Renewed Interest in Solar Stocks

Is solar power becoming a lucrative investment again? It seems like solar energy companies have taken a backseat to other, more exciting tech companies over the past few years. However, new energy policies may shift solar back into the… well… light of day.

Currently, solar power only provides about 1% of electricity in the US. However, it is by far the fastest growing major energy source in the country. As technology improves, it is very possible solar (and wind) power could replace fossil fuels as the leading source of electricity generation in the US in the next 10-15 years.

Here’s the thing…

What’s really got solar power investors excited these days is the potential for a tariff to be imposed on imported solar panels. The current administration believes cheap solar panels from foreign countries are hurting the effectiveness of US-based solar companies. As such, a tax on imported panels is being widely discussed as a way to improve domestic competition in the space.

Whether you believe in the use of tariffs or not, one certain consequence of a solar tariff is sales of US manufactured panels will increase. That’s why stock investors are snapping up shares in companies like First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR), the largest solar company in the US.

As you can see from the chart, FSLR jumped over 5% on the news of a possible solar tariff. Like with many manufactured products, domestic solar companies have trouble competing with panels and other solar tech created in cheap labor nations, like China. Clearly, these companies would benefit from an import tax.

It’s also clear that stock investors believe the benefits of a solar tariff will aid companies like First Solar. But what do options traders think?

Apparently, options traders are not nearly so keen on FSLR’s upside as stock traders. On the same day the stock was up over 5%, 60% of the options trades in FSLR were bearish. In fact, the largest trade of the day was someone purchasing 3,000 October 20th 47.50 puts for $0.92.

That means, with the stock around $51, a trader dropped $275,000 to bet FSLR would be back below roughly $46.50 in the next month. That’s the level the stock was at before any of this tariff talk was taking place.

Why would options traders be so bearish on what appears to be good news for FSLR? First off, options traders can often be contrarian. They tend to take a more measured, longer-term approach to trade theories. While the idea of a tariff sounds good for US solar companies, who knows if and when it will be enacted. Remember the infrastructure spending promises?

My guess is the options crowd is fading the rumor, while the stock crowd is eager to front-run the situation. As an options guy, I normally side with the options traders, but who knows in this case. The stock may dip back down if there’s no movement on the tariff in the next week or so. However, if the tariff talk gains steam, the stock may keep going up.

The one thing I do believe is FSLR is highly unlikely to be sitting at $51 by October 20th expiration. And that’s why I like the idea of buying an options strangle trade here. For $350 you could grab one 50-52 strangle (buying both the 50 put and 52 call at the same time), which breaks even around $46.50 or $55.50.

Either breakeven level is plausible to get to within the next month. And, you don’t even have to guess who’s right between the stock traders and options traders.

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