THE LIQUID NEW ENERGY

Lost in the Clean-Tech Shuffle
G.S. Early, December 18, 2009 (KCI Investing/New Tech Investor)

"Although innumerable stories emerge each day about solar, wind, fuel cells, nanotechnology and other bleeding-edge technologies, the engine behind the industrial revolution and the father of clean-tech largely goes unnoticed--hydropower…

"The US Dept of Energy has earmarked $30 million in stimulus money to finance seven hydro projects. The US Congress recently passed legislation approving $50 million in marine and hydrokinetic energy research. Hydro received another $530 million in Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREB) to finance new projects and upgrade existing ones…[with] lower-cost credit…[Through the bonds] the federal government provides the company a tax credit covering 70 percent of the interest earned…"

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"…[Up 4 percent in consumption in the US in 2009,] hydro is reentering the energy equation in many other countries. Major projects are underway on almost every continent, in developing and developed nations. For example, Norway's SN Power and India's Tata Power (India: 500400) plan to spend $3.2 billion on new hydro projects in India and Nepal.

"This trend means that the big contractors, consulting firms, turbine manufacturers and infrastructure companies will stay busy for years to come…New technologies will improve efficiency and prompt many facilities to upgrade. Funding for these installations will come from economic stimulus packages and tax incentives, or from the World Bank and its affiliates…Hydropower has been around a long time and…it's a long term investment…There's a lot less risk with the big hydro players than there is with some of the more nascent energy technologies."

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"But investing in hydropower companies doesn’t have to be so bland…[In] wave energy, for example. Oregon's Ocean Power Technologies recently inked a deal worth AUD66 million with Australia for a 19 megawatt system…Ansys [and] Scotland-based Green Ocean Energy [have] developed two generators powered by the flapping motion of two arms that ride the waves. Ocean Treader and Wave Treader are the company's latest ideas. For the Wave Treader, the generator is a complimentary power source, as the treader serves as a floating base for a wind turbine. ScottishPower, a subsidiary of Spanish cleantech giant Iberdrola launched a system in the Orkney Islands in 2007.

"There's also tidal energy. NS Power is installing its first commercial-scale OpenHydro turbine in the Bay of Fundy in coming months. SeaGen installed a 1.2 megawatt tidal generator in Strangford Lough in 2008…And for the real hydro vanguard, there's osmotic power. Norwegian firm Statkraft, Europe's largest renewable energy company, launched a plant that generates energy from osmosis between salt water and fresh water. If this technology is scalable, it could be a very big deal."