Submitted by EnergyTechStocks.com
Editor’s Note: In keeping with its mission to be solely a new source, this EnergyTechStocks.com Special Report is presented for information purposes only.
Posted: October 30, 2008
When the U.S. Energy Department announced last week that it was using geothermal energy to help recover oil from old wells, it was one more indication that geothermal energy prospects in 2009 continue to be bright.
In a report issued in August, the Earth Policy Institute, a leading environmental organization, said geothermal energy is “nearing eruption.” The report noted that, “as more and more national leaders begin to see renewable energy as a cost-effective, low-carbon alternative to fossil fuels, geothermal power generation is expected to move rapidly from marginal to mainstream.”
Should, as appears increasingly likely, Barack Obama win the White House, geothermal’s move into the mainstream could be very fast. As the Wall Street Journal’s editorial page recently noted, Obama may institute a rulemaking that classifies carbon as a dangerous pollutant under clean air laws. While the Illinois Democrat backs “clean” coal technology, experts say such technology mightn’t become commercial for a decade. Thus geothermal energy, for which technology has recently advanced very rapidly, becomes a key new source of environmentally-friendly power generation for America. U.S. officials have already started encouraging more geothermal prospecting on federal lands.
There are a number of geothermal energy developers that ought to benefit from the growing interest in this power source, beginning with Ormat Technologies Inc., a Nevada-based firm that trades on the Big Board which EnergyTechStocks.com has previously tabbed as having the potential to be the “Next Google.” Ormat was involved in the recent geothermal oil-recovery test. It also is a pioneer in so-called “hot rocks” technology that enables geothermal recovery where there’s no water present. According to a recent study by the U.S.’s Los Alamos National Laboratory, with hot dry rocks geothermal becomes “a vast energy source found almost everywhere in the world.”
Other intriguing firms include US Geothermal Inc. and Geodynamics Ltd., the latter an Australian company that trades locally. Geodynamics is another hot rocks pioneer.
Still another related company is Waterfurnace Renewable Energy Inc., which makes and installs geothermal heat pumps for homes and businesses. Based on the same principle of tapping the Earth’s own energy, Waterfurnace has continued to post higher sales and earnings even during the prolonged housing crisis as people and firms seek to lock in an environmentally-friendly power source that won’t go up in price.
For Parts 1-3 of this series please see:
5 Investment Themes for 2009 (& Firms That Should Benefit) #1: Wind Power Should Stay Strong
5 Investment Themes for 2009 (& Firms That Should Benefit) #2:145,000+ Miles Of HV Wire to String
5 Investment Themes for 2009 (& Firms That Should Benefit) #3: CFL Sales Should Soar Higher
For more on geothermal please see:
Meet 8 Contenders (4 Public, 4 Private Firms) 3rd Two: Ormat Technologies & LS9
Investor Alert (Part 2 of 2) – Stocks To Think About Buying Right Now: Ormat And Geodynamics
Energy Analyst Dan Scotto: Geothermal Energy ‘Grossly Overlooked’ (Part 1 of 2)
Power Up: 5 That Should Do Well Even in Recession As Power Demand Surges: #3 Waterfurnace
Coming tomorrow, October 31, in Part 5 of “5 Themes for 2009” – a flurry of new funds