The future is SOLAR
Government-Guaranteed Energy Profits
By Nick Hodge | Wednesday, September 24th, 2008
I've been saying this day would come.
I called for it back in February. Again in March. Once more in July. And twice again this month.
Late yesterday, it finally happened.
After eight failed attempts so far this year, members of the Senate extended renewable energy tax credits for the wind and solar industries.
And, as I've been saying for a while, the event triggered a huge rally for the companies in those sectors. More on that in a moment.
First, let's talk about what's at stake.
H.R. 6049: The Massive Solar Profits Act
Extending the tax credits was once a contentious partisan issue, failing eight times, mostly due to Republican filibusters.
But it's not contentious or partisan anymore. With an election looming, each party wants to support renewable energy because of its high consumer (voter) appeal. Plus, extending the credits secures at least 115,000 jobs and $19 billion in new energy investment.
Here's what the bill, officially called the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008, guarantees:
$18 billion in tax credits for using wind, solar, and geothermal energy sources
A 30% tax credit for the purchase of residential, commercial, and utility-scale solar photovoltaic systems with no cap for eight years
The extension of the production tax credit for wind for one year
The extension of tax credits for wave and ocean tidal energy projects
That residential small wind, geothermal heat pumps, and commercial also qualify for tax credits
Taxpayers subject to the Alternative Minimum Tax (ATM) will also be eligible for the tax credit
Several of those bullets are a major departure from normal policy, and will have significant implications for energy investors.
You see, this piece of legislation removes the cap for the maximum available 30% tax credit for both residential and commercial solar systems that once stood at $2,000.
This means many more large solar projects will be initiated because project financiers are guaranteed to get back at least 30% of their investment with no cap. So the demand for solar panels is certainly going to rise.
We're already seeing the initial effects of the bill. The solar sector as a whole is up anywhere from 5-10% just on the Senate news. But there is much more to come.
This new legislation also allows utilities to reap the solar tax credits, which was not previously allowed. This will also spur increased solar spending because utilities are required to generate a certain percentage of their electricity from renewable resources by law.
According to Piper Jaffray analyst Jesse Pichel, this will "further drive demand for low-cost thin film and high efficiency solar PV."
The bill now goes back to the House for what is shaping up to be a speedy approval without changes. That shouldn't be a problem since the Senate, which never agrees on anything, passed this bill with a 93-2 vote.
Plus, the president, who has offered veto threats to such measures in the past, has issued a Statement of Administration Policy expressing support of the renewable energy tax credits and the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) provisions in the bill.
He is expected to sign it when it reaches the Resolute Desk.
Folks, in uncertain economic times like this, it's nice to know there's a government guaranteed market out there. And energy spending isn't discretionary... it's one of the fundamental staples of our economy.
Guaranteed Energy Profits
I'm going to be frank.
A lot of money stands to be made from the companies poised to capitalize on this legislation.
You have to understand, new solar and wind projects have been on the wane because it was uncertain whether or not this bill would get passed by the end of the year,.
Since projects need to be completed before the tax benefits can be issued, companies were hesitant to start new projects that wouldn't be finished by the end of the year when the credits expired.
Now, the race is on.
And I knew it was coming. As I told you earlier, I've been calling this for months.
I've also perfectly positioned the savvy investors of the Alternative Energy Speculator to reap the massive benefits.
In anticipation of this bill, I've methodically placed stocks with best chance for profit in the portfolio over the last few months.
