BARELY TAPPED MARKET FOR NEW ENERGY

In this story is the lingering nightmare scenario from the alternative energy expansion of the 70s and 80s: If the price of oil drops precipitously, the market for alternatives cannot compete. But just ask the Peak Oil guys at The Oil Drum how likely it is that the price of oil is going to drop like it did in the 90s.

Few Are Investing in Alternative Energy
Time Paradis, July 4, 2007 (Washington Post)

WHO
Calvert Group Ltd. (managers of Calvert Global Alternative Energy Fund, Paul Hilton, director of social investment strategy); U.S. investors; Opinion Research Corp.; Lipper Inc., Jeff Tjornehoj, analyst/fund tracker; Canaccord Adams, John Quealy, alternative energy analyst;
The investment trend is fairly easy to spot. (click to enlarge)

WHAT
Survey (conducted by Opinion Research Corp.) found 85% of investors believe there is money in solar and wind energy investments but only 20% have discussed such investments with financial advisers.

WHEN
Tipping point now.

WHERE
Fund markets.

WHY
- Calvert describes its fund as “socially responsible investing (SRI).”
- SRI= notions of environmental stewardship and labor practices that don't exploit workers.
- $5 billion of Calvert’s $15 billion is SRI.
- Some financial planners worry about the funds should energy/ oil prices drop. They acknowledge that funds such as Calvert’s represent a big deal if energy prices remain high.
The whole world is hungry for energy. Supply is going to have trouble keeping up. (click to enlarge)

QUOTES
- Hilton: "…we're at a tipping point…There have been a lot of people coming to us because of concerns about climate change…It is a long-term play…There is no question that within this area that you're going to see some volatility in anything this specific. Investors should be aware of that…We can see that these technologies are competitive in a way that they haven't been before."
- Tjornehoj: "There's certainly some growing investor interest in it. I think they're grabbing a lot of the investors who are interested in alternative energy because energy prices are high right now…If when you see this fund you have a strong emotional response, that should warn you off of this as an investment idea until you have a better sense of why you would want an alternative energy portfolio."
- Quealy: "A lot of funds have done well investing in the theory 'Get clean and then the profits will come,'...We're seeing this tipping point of industry really grabbing hold from a philosophical/regulatory standpoint that says 'I need to prepare my business today for a carbon-constrained environment in five years.'"