A Veritable Shift in Energy Use

If you follow green headlines at all, it was difficult to miss the recent articles about Intel’s dominance of the EPA Green Power Partners program.

According to the EPA’s website, "The Green Power Partnership works with a wide variety of leading organizations--from Fortune 500 companies to local, state and federal governments, and a growing number of colleges and universities."

The program is essentially a brilliant public relations scheme. Companies, schools and governments that purchase renewable energy can sign up to become a green power partner, and in turn they receive national recognition--all while helping the environment and their bottom line.

But the reports I’ve seen about the topic don’t really seem to get the big picture. Major news outlets across the country merely glossed over the subject matter in short pieces with scant information. Many articles I read only supplied the bare-bones information: Intel is the largest corporate buyer of renewable energy in the US.

The real story, however, is much bigger than that.

A Green Shift

Think back two years. Heck, think back one year. Was it news that major companies were buying green power? Did you even know what green power was?

For many, the answer to that question is a quick ‘no’. So what’s changed? I would argue we are witnessing a fundamental shift in how we view and use energy.

You see, in the race to buy green energy, the contestants aren’t just a few Fortune 500 companies looking to get a PR boost--it’s also smaller companies, schools and organizations.

In fact, the EPA’s top 25 list of green power purchasers includes the University of Pennsylvania, New York University, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, the City of Houston and the City of Dallas--a full 20% of the top 25.

That short-list also included the US Air Force, the EPA and the DOE, meaning that over 30% of the top 25 entities purchasing green power weren’t even companies--they were municipalities, schools and Federal agencies.

But the sheer notion that all those different groups are sharing the same space atop green power purchasers illustrates a veritable shift in how the country is viewing energy.

That said, what were once murmurs of clean, green energy have grown into roars and outright outcries. And the amount of investment dollars being poured in to this ever-growing energy sector is astonishing, to put it mildly.

Truth be told, news of renewable energy projects and escalating investment is everywhere. Just take a look a look at a few of headlines that popped just in the last few weeks:

And the two most revealing:

Of course, the list could go on and on.

Inevitably though, there are going to continue to be naysayers and doubters. But let’s face it, the installed megawatts and investment dollars are only going to grow. And the doubt will eventually subside.

In the meantime, those in the know can make some serious profits as a new age of energy is ushered in.

If you want to be one of those savvy investors, or you’d just like to learn more about the evolution of renewable energy here and around the globe, then I encourage you to sign up for the Green Chip Review.

It’s free, so there’s nothing to lose. And you’ll even get our report on the market outlook for 2008. You can sign up today by clicking here.

Until next time,

Nick
www.energyandcapital.com