Energy Efficiency

LED lighting stocks are publicly traded companies involved in the manufacture or deployment of efficient LED lighting technology. AIXTRON SE (AIXA.DE) Acuity Brands (AYI) Amtech Systems Inc (ASYS) Applied Materials (AMAT) Carmanah Technologies Corporation (CMH.TO, CMHXF) Cree, Inc. (CREE) Energy Focus (EFOI) EPISTAR corporation (2448.TW) Koninklijke Philips N.V. (PHG) Lighting Science Group Corporation (LSCG) Lime Energy (LIME: Nasdaq) LSI Industries Inc. (LYTS) Orion Energy Systems, Inc (OESX) Osram Licht AG (OSAGF, OSR.DE) Neo-Neon Holdings Limited (1868.HK) Revolution Lighting Technologies, Inc. (RVLT) Rubicon Technology, Inc. (RBCN) SemiLEDs Corporation (LEDS) Trans-Lux Corporation (TNLX) Universal Display(OLED) Veeco Instruments Inc. (VECO) Zumtobel Group (ZMTBF: OTC or ZAG.VI) If you know of any LED lighting stock that is not listed here and should be, please let us know...

Tom Konrad CFA Lime Energy (NASD:LIME) has been a star in the very competitive energy services space recently because of its ability to maintain margins in what has been a very competitive environment.  While competing small efficiency companies have been closing up shop in the Northeast, Lime has been growing revenues at 30% a year, while maintaining a gross margin of around 20%. Recently, Lime sold off due to an earnings miss arising from a big write-off and less than expected revenues in the company’s Commercial and Industrial (C&I) division.  This was the buying opportunity I was waiting for...

The DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) has launched a new Web site that lists opportunities for financial assistance. In fiscal year 2004 alone, EERE awarded approximately $506 million in financial assistance. So if your thinking of getting into the Alternative Energy business, or have an idea that only needs some financial backing, you may want to take a look at the EERE Financial Opportunities Web site and here is a listing of the current related solicitations.

Cabot Corp (CBT) announced a supply and marketing agreement with Centerpoint(TM) Translucent Systems, LLC, a manufacturer and distributor of residential roofing products. The agreement provides for the use of Nanogel® translucent aerogel in energy efficient daylighting roofing systems produced by Centerpoint. The Nanogel daylighting material that combines high light transmission with energy efficiency and sound insulation will be incorporated into polycarbonate panels made specifically for translucent roofing applications. The combined product-glazing panel provides more than five times the energy efficiency when compared with glass panels typically used in residential sloped glazing. I'm going to start tracking companies...

Tom Konrad CFA Last week, a prominent display of $10 LED light bulbs from Cree, Inc. (NASD:CREE) arrested my attention as I entered a home improvement store. These were officially launched in March, and are similar to a 40 watt-equivalent bulb I bought in 2009.  I still have that bulb, which I use for outdoor lighting, because Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFLs) take too long to warm up in the winter.  It’s still going strong.  The only problem: it cost $50, and used as much energy as a CFL for the same amount of light. Four years later, we have...

Tom Konrad, CFA PFB Corporation is a manufacturer of energy efficient building materials, including SIPD and ICFs, based on expanded polystyrene.  The company's sales have fallen in response to the housing downturn, but less so than most of the housing industry, despite a strong balance sheet and cash flow.  I consider the stock a buy below C$6. NOTE: I'm taking a break in order to take a trip to California for some vacation and to moderate a panel at the San Francisco Moneyshow.  This article was written in January 2010, but I delayed publication for seven months because...

This article is part of a series on the WGA Energy Efficient Buildings Workshop. Governor Ritter After arriving slightly late (a gunman had been shot by state troopers outside his office the day before.)   Bill Ritter kicked off the workshop with his thoughts on energy efficiency.  Other than the Governator, I don't know of any other state governor in the US who understands renewable energy as well as Governor Ritter.  And he's dedicated to learning more; when I attended a fundraiser early in his campaign last year, he had not yet heard about plug-in hybrids, but in a...

Tom Konrad CFA Disclosure: I am long TSX:PRI / PENGF. The poster child of energy efficiency has long been changing a light bulb.  First, it was swapping out an incandescent for a compact fluorescent, now the swap is to an LED.  Changing a light bulb is a small step that anyone can take, and it’s so cost effective that it can pay for itself in months if the bulb is used frequently. This is a good example of household energy efficiency measures: a small action requiring a limited investment that anyone can take that pays back quickly....

General Electric (GE), Honeywell (HON), IBM, Johnson Controls (JCI), Siemens (SI)

It's no longer breaking news, Deloitte released earlier this week the results of two surveys, one of state public utility regulators and one of residential electricity consumers (both PDF documents). Deloitte's interpretation of the results can be found here. The results have also been interpreted by two prominent alt energy/environmental blogs: the WSJ's Environmental Capital and Grist. The former argues that policy-makers and 'smart-money' are out of whack with the little guy, because the little guy simply isn't willing to pay for solutions to climate change out of his electricity bill. The latter, looking at the same data,...

Part 1 of 2 Bill Paul Looking for alternative energy stocks with undiscovered potential? Who isn't? Here are three possibilities (with three more to come next week). You can decide for yourself whether they are worth further investigation. First up: PFB Corporation, which trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol PFB. Calgary-based PFB is an energy efficiency play. The company makes insulating building products that it sells under branded names in commercial and residential markets in North America and Japan. The company most recently reported third quarter net income of $1.6 million or 24 cents vs. $1.1...

Lighting Science Group Corp. (LSGP.OB) unveiled an LED R30 floodlight which provides the equivalent light output of a 65 watt incandescent floodlight but uses up to 80% less energy over a lifetime that is up to 50 times longer. The new floodlight, powered by Optimized Digital Lighting(TM) (ODL(TM)) technology, is designed for use both indoors and outdoors, in recessed cans and other applications that require a standard screw base socket. The R30 floodlight is one of the most widely used bulbs today, typically found in large quantities in commercial, industrial, retail, educational and hospitality facilities.

Tom Konrad CFA In February, I published an interview with Sam Healey portfolio manager at Lamassu Holdings about Pure Technologies (PUR.V, PPEHF.PK), a company that can find and repair leaks in water systems without shutting down the system. Last week, Pure Technologies announced that it intended to acquire Pressure Pipe Inspection Company for cash and stock worth as much as C$34.9 million.  The market's reaction was initially positive with PUR.V gaining C$0.29 on Wednesday, the day following the announcement, but most of these gains were given back on Thursday and Friday. My initial feeling is that this...

Portfolio theory can lend insights into which carbon abatement strategies policymakers should pursue.  If policymakers listen, what will it mean for green investors? Tom Konrad, Ph.D., CFA Good Info, Not Enough Analysis I've now read most of my review copy of Investment Opportunities for a Low Carbon World.  The quality of the information is generally excellent, as Charles has described in his reviews of the Wind and Solar and Efficiency and Geothermal chapters.  As a resource on the state of Cleantech industries, it's generally excellent.  As an investing resource, however, it leaves something to be desired.  Each chapter is written...

Tom Konrad CFA Photo: Cubes made of rockwool for indoor cannabis cultivation by D-Kuru/Wikimedia Commons. While some users may use Rockwool insulation to grow their highs, the recent highs in the stock price have led me to sell part of my holdings. Earlier this year, I bought Rockwool International A/S (COP:ROCK-B, OTC:RKWBF) with the intention of holding it for the long term. I chose Rockwool because it was expanding in the US, provides excellent international diversification, has a strong balance sheet with no net debt, and (not least) is a leader in...