Wind power

The oil industry giants are embracing alternative technologies -- including biofuels, geothermal and solar. Right now, renewable sources provide only a tiny fraction of the profits they derive from oil and gas, but they'll have a real impact on the revenues of majors like BP, Exxon Mobil and Chevron in the not-so-distant future.

Last week, President Obama outlined a new energy policy that aims to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil. How can patient investors capitalize on his vision?

Regular readers of this column may recall that I got irritated by a claim that a product was "made with wind energy." The green power grid is a big, unruly thing with electrons coming in from all over, and unless you're directly connected to a wind turbine (and nothing else) it's hard to justify...

With oil prices soaring on the region's turmoil, alternative energy such as wind is again gaining attention. But wind technology hasn't been standing still: Its power output worldwide jumped by 22% last year. However, it's still nowhere near ready to compete with oil.

A natural gas boom is coming in the U.S, but while consumers are likely to benefit from the cheap energy source, investors may not. Huge new discoveries of domestic reserves may keep prices down, and the political push toward renewable energy sources could cut into producers' profits.

In Sustainable Excellence, Aron Cramer and Zachary Karabell make a compelling argument that profits and sustainability aren't mutually exclusive. Their hype-free research is thorough, with wide-ranging examples at companies big and small. And it's perfectly timed.

In a sign that large fossil-fuel power plants may be falling out of favor, French engineering company Alstom on Monday announced plans to cut 4,000 jobs in the next 17 months. Alstom cited low demand for its coal and natural-gas plants. Its renewable-energy operations won't be affected by the cuts.

Looking for companies that are growing fast but still ignored by Wall Street? Hilary Kramer talks about two stocks here with great upside potential. One of them, she says, could even be a ten-bagger.

The emphasis in alternative energy used to be on new ways to generate power. Now, it's on finding better ways to conserve it and make the power grid more efficient. The so-called smart grid is key to that goal, and fortunes will be spent -- and made -- on making it a reality.

NRG Energy (NRG) a $3 billion company with 24,000 megawatts of coal, natural gas, nuclear and solar power plants in its portfolio, has acquired Bluewater Wind, based in Hoboken, N.J., for cash on hand. The deal, announced in a press conference last Monday with Drew Murphy, NRG's Northeast regional...