GeorgeMo

Investing in Wind Energy: When Will Growth Peak?

Wouldn't it be more accurate to estimate the demand for wind energy based on the available land area with suitable average wind speeds? Turbine farms are currently only economical in locations with class 3 average wind speeds, and there are a finite number of those.

If anyone is able to solve the vibration problems of rooftop turbines, we're likely to see a large commercial market. One of the interesting technologies is called "aeroelastatic flutter". The company that's developing this (Humdinger LLC) is pretty far off the radar. have you seen any other promising rooftop technologies?

Decreasing Chipotle Traffic Could Spell Trouble

Hmm. The announcement that Chipotle is spending $100M of its $200M warchest to buy back shares has got to have crushed your short positions. I hope you and your 20 friends didn't put too much money on that bet - and I think CMG-B has the potential to reach $70 or $80 by year's end.

Ag Secretary Defends Ethanol

This is strange - was the interview conducted before the Bailout Bill was written into law? Because that bill has a whole section extending the solar energy credit and juicing other alternative energy technologies. Surely the Ag Secretary should know about this! (from the interview: "As an example, the solar tax credits are about to expire. Why would you invest in a very expensive energy-generation resource today without good public policy?")

Going to Hell in a Handbasket: The Rush To Protect More Stocks

I've got no sympathy for short sellers, but if we're going to put a few companies out of bounds, why not outlaw short selling entirely? Why do we have a system that rewards anyone for creating a situation in which others suffer financial pain? Stocks are fully capable of crashing on their own - there's no need for Shorts to pump up the volatility.

Harvest Energy Trust: Not Like Other Refiners

SkrummyDummy> HTE pays its dividend in Canadian currency. So, when the Canadian dollar rises against the US dollar, the dividend effectively gets a boost. A bunch of people bailed on the company when they dropped the dividend down to C$0.30 per month, but that was when the US dollar was much stronger. In the last 3 months, the value of C$0.30 has gone from US$0.20 to about US$0.31.

The relationship between currency fluctuations and stock price is a bit murkier. But, if the US dollar keeps going down like a rock against the Canadian dollar, it's bound to boost revenue for the company, and, theoretically, stock value.

Harvest Energy Trust: Not Like Other Refiners

SkrummyDummy> HTE pays its dividend in Canadian currency. So, when the Canadian dollar rises against the US dollar, the dividend effectively gets a boost. A bunch of people bailed on the company when they dropped the dividend down to C$0.30 per month, but that was when the US dollar was much stronger. In the last 3 months, the value of C$0.30 has gone from US$0.20 to about US$0.31.

The relationship between currency fluctuations and stock price is a bit murkier. But, if the US dollar keeps going down like a rock against the Canadian dollar, it's bound to boost revenue for the company, and, theoretically, stock value.

Ormat Should Benefit from the Ethanol Backlash

I have to challenge an assumption in this article being treated as fact. If ethanol has anything to do with food shortages, that effect is far outweighed by changing dietary habits in the 3rd world. The big effect we're seeing is what happens when a few billion people start eating meat on a regular basis instead of eating meat once a month (or less).

Is Harvest Energy Trust's Premium Valuation Justified?

I hold several shares of HTE in a Roth IRA, and I'm a bit irked by the 15% "foreign tax withholding". I spent some time talking with the Canadian and US tax authorities, and neither of them seem to know how to reclaim this leakage. Any one out there have an idea?

The Case Against Ethanol

bar310 > I think you're misuing the phrase "coal gassification". You're talking about "coal liquification" (where coal is turned into synthetic gasoline). Gassification is a process where superheated steam is injected into the burn cycle at coal power plants in an effort to increase efficiency. It's a common mistake though.

About the article, I'd like to see some citations for the numbers. "Ethanol is 20% less efficient than gasoline"? What does that even mean? If the author is referring to the lower energy density of ethanol, then Mr. Smicklas needs to be more clear and get his numbers right. A gallon of Ethanol has only 66% of the BTUs of a gallon of 88 octane gasoline in the lab environment, but the reduction of knock can yield better real world performance.

A study by the University of North Dakota Energy and Environmental Research Center and the Minnesota Center for Automotive Research suggests that ethanol can actually improve performance. In limited trials, they found that a mix of 20% or 30% ethanol boosted mileage on some E85 test vehicles.