Remember Their Names: 5 Companies That Look Poised to Make It Big #3: Orb Energy
Submitted by EnergyTechStocks.com
It is only the end of the first year of what promises to be a decade-long revolution in how energy is produced and consumed and investors’ radar screens are already brightly lit with dozens, if not hundreds, of companies that appear to have a chance to hit it big. Which are the contenders, not merely the pretenders? Introducing five firms that look like they are poised to hit it big.
Contender #3 – Orb Energy, a Singapore company that sells backup solar photovoltaic systems in India, where a dilapidated power grid stands in the way of millions of rising-income consumers.
Orb’s strategy, which is to provide reliable, renewable power in emerging countries, would seem to have great potential especially in India, the world’s most populous country, where the desire of a rapidly growing middle class for middle-class amenities such as refrigerators, air conditioners and TVs is often thwarted by an unreliable electricity network.
Orb is rapidly opening branches around the country, with the help of the U.S. State Department, which recently gave the company a grant as part of the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate.
Basically, Orb is doing what a handful of savvy U.S. firms that investors already know about are doing in California, namely, providing a turnkey operation for consumers who want or need solar power, those services including installation, financing and long-term servicing. The only difference is that in California consumers want solar power, while in India (and other developing countries) it’s more a question of needing solar power. The company also offers solar water heaters, a fast growing market everywhere in the world.
According to the company, it will have 70 outlets in the Indian state of Karnataka by the end of 2008, the first step in a nationwide network of branches. The company also plans to develop solar facilities in India that will be connected to the nation’s power grid.
