Green Investments
For The Future

Considering green investments? There seems to be a pandemic need to reach for greater and greater profits in all areas of our lives, but this is none more apparent than when looking at investing in stocks.

As far as I can see, it has been the continual reaching for profit that has caused a lot of the environmental destruction and human suffering that we are now faced with.

That doesn't mean we should throw away our hard earned money through careless investment or through a sense of guilt. However we do need to act responsibly toward the environment and future generations. For this reason I suggest that we do not invest merely as a short term money making venture but rather as a means of contributing both to the future and to our own wellbeing. After all, the two are not separate.

For the future's sake, investments should include the following:

1. Have a long time frame

2. Be with companies or organizations that promote clean technology and fair trade

3. Provide a reasonable long term Return On Investment (ROI).

Needless to say finding green investment opportunities in line with these ideas is not as easy as it sounds.

I am not a stock trader and the companies reviewed here are just those manufacturers and / or suppliers of green energy technology that look to be in a strong position. The information given in this section is about the companies only and is not intended as investment advice.

Abengoa Solar

Abengoa Solar is a very well established and international solar power station construction company based in Spain. The parent company was founded in 1941.

BrightSource Energy

BrightSource Energy is set to expand in a massive way in the next few years with contracts of over 2.5 GW of concentrated thermal solar power to be built in southwest USA.

Coulomb Technologies

Coulomb Technologies is a young company in the electric car charging field. They produce the ChargePoint units that are looking set to be adopted widely in both Europe and the US.

Evergreen Solar

Evergreen Solar produces solar panels made from silicon using their own String Ribbon technology. Recently this company signed some very large contracts with China that promise to expand their operations greatly.

First Solar

First Solar Inc has been powering ahead on the thin film manufacturing front for several years. In 2009 it is expected to double its total output to date to a whopping 1 GigaWatt of panles. The scale of this company and the technology used allows them to drastically reduce the per watt cost of solar power.

Konarka Technologies

Konarka is researching new ways to improve the efficiency and lifespan of plastic-based solar cells. Companies partnering with Konarka will be worth watching.

Motech Industries

The Taiwan based company Motech Industries has been producing solar cells steadily for over 25 years. They also supply inverters to the United States based company groSolar.

Skyline Solar

The Taiwan based company Skyline Solar is a small startup company with an excellent idea to join concentrated solar power and photovoltaics together in a water free method of power generation.

Solar Power Partners

Based in California, Solar Power Partners builds and maintains small commercial power stations for a range of customers. The company has over 12 MW of installations to its credit at present.

Suntech Power

China based Suntech Power is one of the largest manufacturers of solar cells in the world. They sell panels all around the globe and have a large annual R&D budget.

Solar Vest Charges Gadgets, Shreds Cred

This is the Solar Vest. If you didn’t know that it was a solar vest, may we draw your attention to the giant, two-inch high letters on the back which spell out “SOLAR VEST”. This is, incredibly, touted on the product site:

In case your friends think this is only an ultra-fashionable vest, the words “SOLAR VEST” in big stitched lettering on the back let them know this is really a high-tech solar battery.

The vest, as you’d expect, is covered in expandable “nerd-pockets”, suitable for all kinds of devices, including the honking great charger and battery pack that comes with it. Also supplied are various tips to hook this charger up to your devices, and the pack will output 5V, 6V, 9V and 12-20V from its 8800mAh battery (roughly equivalent in storage to a nine-cell netbook battery).

It’s easy to scoff, but if you think of this as a replacement for a be-pocketed photo vest, only with added charging power, then it comes out looking a lot better, and at €100 ($140) it is actually quite a deal, considering I paid around that for just a netbook battery. Available now, possibly not washable,