Alternative Power Companies That Show Promise
Ormat Technologies is one of the alternative power companies that are revolutionizing the field of geothermal energy. Though partially owned by American business interests, 60 percent of it is owned by an Israeli holding company called Ormat Industries. It is the leading geothermal alternative power companies primarily in places like California and Nevada where geothermal resources are high. They are set to expand their capacity by two-thirds in the next two years.
Furthermore, California Alternative Power Companies added 500 megawatts of green power in 2008 – a 60% increase. The most difficult challenges lie not in the generation of the power, but rather the power transmission. This aspect will be have to be handled federally, which appears to be happening as the current administration is responsible for a total budget of $18.73 billion for the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), 11 times more than the funding from 2008.
This huge influx of money bodes well for First Solar. This alternative power company trades on Nasdaq as FSLR, Energy Conversion Devices, which trades on Nasdaq as ENER, and FPL Group, which trades on NYSE as FPL. FPL group is a utility with big plans for solar and renewable energy. These alternative power companies, though beset by periodic setbacks in the current unstable economy, are poised to continue growing and generating profits.
