Topic: Growth Stocks

How to profit from alternative energy investments with less risk

We continue to recommend a number of companies that are now involved in, or are planning to expand into, green power production, including solar and wind energy.

However, while alternative energy investments appeal to a lot of investors on an emotional and conceptual level, many offer only limited investment potential. That’s because they may need a long time to move from the research or concept stage to profitability.

In addition, many governments around the world are cutting subsidies for alternative energy investments as they look for ways to deal with their ballooning budget deficits.

To cut your risk, we recommend that you focus on established firms that have a sound base of other operations. That helps cut the risk of their alternative energy investments.

Another way to offset the risk of subsidy cuts is to look for alternative energy producers that have secured long-term, government-guaranteed contracts for the power they generate.

Alternative energy investments: Algonquin Power has made a big move into wind

In the latest issue of Canadian Wealth Advisor, our newsletter for safety-conscious investing, we’ve published a special update on two companies that are making big alternative energy investments. (Read on to learn how you can get this issue—which gives you our clear buy/sell/hold advice on both of these stocks—absolutely FREE.)

One of these companies is Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (symbol AQN on Toronto). Algonquin holds interests in 44 hydroelectric plants in Canada and the northeastern U.S. It also owns 12 thermal-energy facilities. Algonquin’s wholly owned subsidiary, Liberty Water Co., owns 19 water-distribution and waste-water plants in the U.S.

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Algonquin has made a number of big wind-power investments: the company owns wind farms in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and is developing other wind projects in Ontario and Quebec.

As well, Emera Inc. (symbol EMA on Toronto) and Algonquin are forming a joint venture called Northeast Wind to build wind-energy projects in the northeastern U.S. Emera holds a 24.4% interest in Algonquin.

In addition to its renewable power assets, Algonquin has a separate partnership with Emera called Liberty Energy Utilities. This partnership continues to make acquisitions.

So far, Liberty Energy’s purchases include NV Energy, which sells power to 47,000 customers near Lake Tahoe; Atmos Energy, which distributes natural gas to 84,000 customers in Missouri, Iowa and Illinois; and two other utilities that sell electricity and natural gas to 130,000 customers in New Hampshire.

Algonquin is also a dividend paying stock. Its shares yield a high 4.9%.

Get our up-to-the-minute advice on Algonquin and 19 other safety-conscious investments FREE

As I mentioned, investing in renewable-power projects like wind farms adds longer-term risk. In the latest Canadian Wealth Advisor, we look to see if Algonquin’s government electricity contracts and its other operations (including its partnerships with Emera) are enough to help it offset the risk of cuts to politically sensitive green-power subsidies.

We’ve concluded our analysis with our clear advice on whether you should buy, hold—or sell—the shares.

Best of all, in addition to the latest issue of Canadian Wealth Advisor, your FREE trial contains 5 in-depth Special Reports and much more. Don’t wait! Click here start your 1-month FREE trial to Canadian Wealth Advisor now.

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