A Most Profitable Montage
By: Nick Hodge

Every week my web browser gets bombarded with news stories about energy. Some news is financial, some scientific, but each has its place in the evolving world of green energy.

A good chunk of that news is press releases, summoned to the top of the ticker by savvy PR firms and in-house marketing departments. But every now and then, a barrage of news floods the scene that is too large and relevant to ignore.

With so much going on in the past few weeks, I thought it was high time we had a green news montage that indicated not only how fast the industry is growing, but also how much money stands to be made.

Climate Change is Investment Megatrend

That’s exactly what I’ve been telling you—and it’s also the title of a Reuter’s story I found on the Planet Ark website the other day.

Basically, the article corroborates the thesis of Green Chip Stocks. That is, the world we are living in is changing, and the technologies and strategies we’ll use to adapt can also create a heap of wealth for savvy investors.

As the article pointed out, “government efforts to tackle climate change are creating a "megatrend" investment opportunity that should tempt even those skeptical about the nature and pace of global warming.”

According to Mark Fulton, global head of strategic planning and climate change for Deutsche Bank, “Whether you believe the science or not, investable markets are being created by governments, and these investable markets we think will grow significantly over the next 20 to 30 years.”

So far, Deutsche Bank has brought over $8.55 billion into climate change-related funds. Such funds are aimed at everything from developing technologies that reduce harmful emissions to products that will aid the human population in a warmer world. The sectors those investments reach range from agriculture to power and construction.

The bank is hoping to capitalize on the extreme amounts of cash that are coming to these industries—a space once dominated by so-called ‘greenies’ that is now a hotbed of Wall Street capital.

Deutsche’s global head of asset management said, “We believe the shift away from a carbon-based economy is a megatrend that will shape the asset management industry for many years.” He continued, "We expect return opportunities in sectors like renewable energy, water, and agribusiness will justify dedicated strategies."
At Green Chip, we aren’t just expecting great returns. Our readers are already making them on a daily basis.

Some of the top ten holdings in the Deutsche’s funds include French utility Veolia Environment (NYSE: VE), Spanish building and construction group Acciona (LONDON: ACI) and the US’s United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX), a large manufacturer solar panels and related equipment.

And if those remarks from Deutsche haven’t convinced you of the authenticity of this market, take a look at what Morgan Stanley said in a different article.

One Trillion Dollar Green Market by 2030

That’s the recent estimation put forward by financial powerhouse Morgan Stanley. The figure is based on future sales of clean energy from sources like solar, geothermal, wind, and biofuels.

In a recently issued memo the bank cited, as reported by Reuters, population growth, high fossil energy prices, increasingly competitive clean energy, and growing concern about energy security and climate change as drivers of the market.

According to Morgan Stanley, sales of clean energy could reach $505 billion by 2020 and double in the ten years after that to over $1 trillion dollars.

Also in the memo was this gem of a quote: "The global risks posed by climate change are driving spending and investment in clean energy solutions, which (unlike the oil shock that spawned the first wave of energy solutions in the 1970s) is durable and accelerating.”

Sounds like a reading from the Green Gospel.

But Morgan Stanley wasn’t just preaching. They hit the ground running, initiating coverage on a slew of companies in the space.

They are the most bullish on solar power, whose market penetration in the electricity market could rise from infinitesimal levels in 2005 to 11.2% in 2030. Wind power will also be on the move, it said, climbing from a 0.9% to a 9.6% market share by 2030.

If my arithmetic serves me correctly, that means those two sources would be contributing over 20% of the world’s power in the next 20 or so years.

And in the transportation market, the bank is predicting biofuels increase their market share from 1% in 2005 to 21% in 2030.

That’s a lot of displaced gasoline. And a lot of profits in the pockets of Green Chip readers.

According to the UN, last year, investment in renewable energy soared to over $100 billion, and is forecast to jump to $120 billion by the end of this year.

Undoubtedly, some of that can be attributed to Morgan Stanley, who owned 1 percent or more of common equity securities of Aventine Renewable Energy (NYSE: AVR) and ReneSola (LSE: SOLA). And in the last 12 months, they’ve managed or co-managed IPOs for EnerNOC (NASDAQ: ENOC), First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR), Motech (TAIWAN: 6244), SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR) and VeraSun Energy (NYSE: VSE).

And in the next five years the bank said it plans to invest some $3 billion in carbon markets.

As if all this weren’t evidence enough, The Christian Science Monitor recently broke a story entitled, “Even as Economy Lags, Corporate 'Green' Push May Advance.”

Folks, this thing is only getting bigger. But you can still be at the forefront of every advancement and reap the profits of this global investment megatrend.

As a Green Chip member, you’ll get up to date reports and recommended companies that stand to drastically increase their stock price as the energy and climate crises continue to unfold.

To become a member today, and to take advantage of all Green Chip has to offer, click here.