On Friday morning, I stopped by the liquor store to pick up some beer for the weekend.
The place was packed, but not with the usual morning drunks who linger around the parking lot, chain smoking Marlboro Reds…
No, that morning there was a line wrapped around the counter that stretched all the way to the back near the walk-in cooler. Must’ve been 40 or 50 people, many looking quite agitated, checking their watches obsessively.
I guess they were running late to work — but not late enough to abandon their one opportunity to get their hands on that winning Mega Millions lottery ticket.
The total jackpot was $640 million and nearly everyone that morning was talking about what they would do with all that money…
“I’d quit my job and move to Tahiti!”
“I’d pay off all my bills and spend a year traveling all over the world!”
“I’d open up my own restaurant, then just bank the rest and live off the interest.”
Fortunately, there was a separate line for those buying booze, so I only had to listen to the hopes and dreams of a few folks who only needed this “one big break” to make their lives complete.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m not knocking the lottery or anyone who plays it. Certainly if you can squeeze a few hours of happy daydreams out of a buck, I’m all for it. It’s a hell of a lot cheaper than meds.
But the thing is most of those people waiting in line that morning didn’t need to win the lottery to do all the things they were dreaming about…
Huge Wads of Cash
While lottery fever resulted in Americans ponying up $1.5 billion last week for the chance to win $640 million, I was struck by the absurdity of it all.
It’s amazing that so many people can get so excited about a 1 in 176 million chance of winning $640 million when there’s $270 trillion on the table for the taking.
No lottery tickets needed — and the chance to walk away with huge wads of cash is practically guaranteed.
You see, about two years ago the International Energy Agency (IEA) made an announcement confirming what I’ve been saying since 2004: The transition of our global energy economy will prove to be the greatest investment opportunity of the 21st century.
And according to the IEA, it’s worth $270 trillion.
That’s right.
In 2010, the IEA confirmed that $270 trillion will have to be invested in all forms of energy in order to meet the world’s energy needs by 2050.
Of course, we started profiting from this transition years before the IEA came clean…
Getting the Upper Hand
I’m not going to waste a bunch of time here talking about all the money we’ve made in the energy space since launching Energy & Capital. The bottom line is many of our early readers have made absolute fortunes by following our analysis over the years.
Whether it was from our 2004 call on $140 oil, our 2005 call on the rise of alternative energy, or our 2006 call on the natural gas boom in the United States… by preparing you for the biggest trends in the energy space right before they play out, you continually have the upper hand.
That, my friends, is what separates those who build fortunes from those who obsessively buy lottery tickets.
Of course, the very nature of trends is that they consistently change and evolve.
Much of what fattened our wallets just a few years ago is no longer relevant, and we’ve since moved on to…
Our analysts have traveled the world over, dedicated to finding the best and most profitable investments in the global energy markets. All you have to do to join our Energy and Capital investment community is sign up for the daily newsletter below.
Our Next Round of Profits
Right now, there are three specific energy trends underway that we’re fully exploiting. They are as follows:
- Next-Generation Solar – Although it’s very much in fashion today to take cheap shots at solar, smart investors know the solar industry does not live and die by a company called Solyndra. We’ll leave that noise for the pundits and bureaucrats. Because the truth is while most solar stocks will continue to struggle this year, there are few solar tech plays that are absolutely crushing it…
You see, while growth projections for solar remain solid, today’s solar panels are still quite inefficient, costly, and only allow users to generate power when the sun is shining. But tomorrow’s solar technology will not only cost a fraction of what it costs today, but some advanced technologies actually allow these systems to work at night. Yep, solar that works at night!
I know, it sounds like the stuff of science fiction movies, but it’s real — and it’s being developed right now by one company at a secure location just outside of Washington, D.C. - Domestic Oil & Gas – I don’t think this one needs much of an explanation. Bottom line: The U.S. is once again a top producer of oil and gas. And while there’s any number of opportunities here for investors, we’re only interested in those that’ll give us the most bang for our buck.
For us, the big payday is coming directly from a remote region in North Dakota called “Three Forks.” It’s this area where one very fortunate producer is now sitting on roughly 6.2 billion barrels of recoverable, light sweet crude…
This isn’t that thick, black stuff that costs a fortune to produce. No, this is light, sweet crude — the least expensive and easiest to refine. This is the most sought-after oil on the global market, and there are limited supplies remaining.
Of course, our favorite domestic oil & gas producer is sitting on more than 6 billion barrels of the stuff. - Advanced Nuclear Fuels – Despite a handful of countries effectively putting the kibosh on nuclear power generation, the outlook for nuclear remains strong, particularly in China and India. In fact, a few weeks ago we got an early preview of a new International Atomic Energy Agency report that shows a growth rate for nuclear power of between 35% and 100% by 2030.
However, following Fukushima, stricter regulations and safety standards are now dictating the use of new technologies that alleviate some of the safety concerns often associated with nuclear power generation.
One of the most promising is a new beryllium-based fuel that eliminates the threat of meltdowns. That’s right, eliminates the threat of meltdowns! The company behind this innovation is currently in bed with the World Nuclear Association and already has deals in place with GE (NYSE: GE), Toshiba Corporation, and Hitachi (NYSE: HIT).
One More for Good Measure
Beyond the three I just told you about, there’s also another opportunity my colleague Nick Hodge recently uncovered… although it’s more of an indirect play on the domestic oil & gas boom.
You see, nearly all oil & gas exploration being done today requires the use of small wireless sensors that allow producers to find pockets of oil that would otherwise go undiscovered. Hardly any new oil discoveries are made these days without these sensors.
The next generation of these sensors — which is currently in development — can go even further and deeper than ever before, thanks to a new discovery made by researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
With this discovery, hardly an ounce of oil below our feet will ever be off-limits again.
But the play on this is not the actual sensor, but rather a key material required to produce these sensors.
Or you can retire early on your lottery winnings.
Let me know how that works out for you.
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To a new way of life and a new generation of wealth…
Jeff Siegel
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Jeff is the founder and managing editor of Green Chip Stocks. For more on Jeff, go to his editor’s page.
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