Trimming Your Green Portfolio (Part 1 of 3) EnerNOC Inc. and Beacon Power Corp.
Submitted by EnergyTechStocks.com
With the stock market in the tank and a global recession setting in, even many major green energy developers are cutting plans for 2009. For smaller guys – including a number that EnergyTechStocks.com has positively written about – 2009 shapes up as a very difficult year.
For those wishing to trim their green portfolios, here are six companies which, even though their long-term potential still appears intact, look to be expendable for now, beginning with what may be a surprise to long-time readers: NASDAQ-traded EnerNOC Inc.
Make no mistake: EnergyTechStocks.com still believes that Massachusetts-based EnerNOC probably has a bright future providing energy efficiency services that serve to reduce large power users’ electric bills, while lessening the need for utilities to build new generation. But even with a 131% increase in third quarter revenue, EnerNOC still finished in the red. What’s more, the company’s CEO, Tim Healy, reportedly said the company won’t be profitable until 2010. That’s a long time to wait, especially with so many other energy technology companies already in the black and likely to stay there during the recession.
A second company whose long-term prospects still appear good but whose near-term performance doesn’t look all that promising is NASDAQ-traded Beacon Power Corp., which as recently as last month EnergyTechStocks.com thought might be worth investors’ attention. Beacon’s flywheel technology provides stability and backup power for high-voltage grids, doing so in an environmentally preferable way to lead-acid battery systems. America’s critical need for better grid support notwithstanding, as well as a phalanx of new environmental regulations the utility industry must follow, Beacon’s operating performance remains lackluster.
Beacon appears stuck in a Catch 22 in that its production costs will likely remain high until output increases, but increasing output depends on proving its product cost-effective. The company recently reported a third quarter net loss of $5.6 million vs. $2.8 million a year earlier.
