We want to Invest in the Pickens Plan

Comment

Comment by Paul on April 4, 2009 at 11:07am

Hey J.,

back in 2007 ( I think) someone dunked an "aqua-turbine" in the drink in NYC. The tides ripped the blades off the thing. While there is certainly an abundant source of energy behind the moving water, the environment is probably too harsh for significant economic development.

This is one of the issues I've always found to be confusing. Guys ignoring the low-ripe fruit, and climbing for the small green buds.

The light is Green!

Comment by J. VanDiver on April 4, 2009 at 8:54am

Has any one explored Hydro or Tidal turbines as a viable AE solution? Investment? I am learning and reading and not knowledgable at all of the market impact--On the surface (no pun) it appears to be viable technology--- just wonder how they get serviced and repaired? Any comments- or suggestions welcome.

Comment by TheEarthisNotFlat on March 31, 2009 at 10:37am

My interview with the special events coordinator of grassroots efforts is now live on my podcast takingbackAmerica.podomatic.com - many more interviews coming

also new site is up takebackAmerica.webs.com

Comment by Al Davis, MD on March 26, 2009 at 11:54am

To Bonnie S. - you mentioned that you know a "land guy" who negotiates leases for pipelines, etc. Have you read the post under the discussion "A Little Help"? A guy there is looking for a "land guy", I think, to help him get a wind farm going on his land. Maybe there's a deal there...

Comment by Al Davis, MD on March 25, 2009 at 7:08am

Oh yeah - one other miner that's very attractive (you've gotta do your homework on this one) is Tirex. (They pronounce it TREX - like godzilla...) They're canadian owned, and have the mining rights to ~350 square kilometers! of land in Albania that is sitting on a VMS deposit. They're currently less than 50 cents a share, and produce nothing (yet.) But their drilling results range from very good to spectacular on copper, gold, silver and zinc. They have stable financing from an EU development bank, which owns warrants at 3 times the current price. I'm not sure if they'll get bought up when commodity demand rises again, or if they'll mature to the actual mining, but either way I think their long term prospects are outstanding. I have a big position with them in my retirement fund.

Comment by Al Davis, MD on March 25, 2009 at 6:57am

Hi Bonnie. I didn't know AEP had joined up w/TBP. I'm glad to hear it. It seems like a few billion in incentive money from the govt will turn all sorts of folks into willing partners.

As for Obama's moves re: fixing our current mess, I hate that's he's had to do it, and you can argue 'til the cows come home about the details of what's been done from last March on up to today, but the bottom line is that something had to be done. You seem like a Republican, so I'll hold back on my rant about how bad Dubya let things get... but I think Obama is trying to do things that should have been done long ago. Can we afford to do it all, now? I dunno, but I hope you're ready for some serious inflation beginning pretty soon and lasting for several years. It seems like lots of pundits are recommending getting into the forex markets, but I've never been able to predict anything there because the events that drive that market are so often political. Who could have known that China's govt would suggest dumping the dollar as the reserve currency? An investing service I subscribe to (Taipan) is pushing an "investment CD" in which the funds are placed in foreign currencies of resource rich countries, with the current assumptions that resources will rise rapidly with global inflation as well as rising demand, and push the forex values of the fund up. Nice theory, but I am indeed skeptical of forex in general. I'd rather buy the stocks, and have done so. Vale, in Brazil (NYSE: RIO - mostly iron ore) has done very well over the last few months and I believe it will continue. Several Australian miners are also attractive, but I'm not invested there (yet.) I own a Chilean lithium miner (NYSE:SQM - SOCIEDAD QUIMICA MINERA DE CHI) on assumptions about car batteries - they're OK but not great right now. HudBay minerals (canadian) is doing very well, also. And if you don't own silver or gold now, you should think hard about it. Predictions are huge, but there's not too much actually happening over the last month or so.

One last thing about the budget - Obama said last night that his budget will actually reduce "non defense discretionary spending" as a percentage of GDP. Good for the lower tax brackets, not so good for the uppers, but I can live with that. I'm a little concerned that since the military spending in Iraq/Afghan is now in the budget, as opposed to being out of it as under Bush, that overall defense spending will be down an awful lot. I think the generals will be down by about 1/3 of a trillion this year, but at least the money is now accountable (as much as any govt money is...) Tough luck for Halliburton.

I did almost exactly as you re: bonds, except I went to Vanguard's high yield bond fund. It didn't double, but I did very well there from early Dec until early Feb. Its since gone a little flat, but the profits are still there. I may move that money to an emerging market fund - they look like they could be at the bottom of a very deep dip.

Comment by Al Davis, MD on March 24, 2009 at 11:10pm

Oh Yeah, Bonnie. I've looked at AEP and they're somewhat compelling, but I don't have any free cash to buy them right now. Don't know nuffin' 'bout NGK, except they made the battery in the motorcycle I owned 20 years ago. It never failed to start...

Comment by Al Davis, MD on March 24, 2009 at 11:01pm

Hi Bonnie,

Please, oh please don't tar me with the brush of claiming risk free high return investments. I didn't report Jack Sh#$, except to copy the article and say I thought it was fascinating! You've beaten me to the punch, diligence-wise, and I thank you for sharing. As far as relating to boats, I think that the only relationship is that mega yacht owners are presumed to have a lot of money for this type of investment. Personally, I have been considering getting a kayak, but I'm not sure that qualifies me for their club.

As for MDs, we're pretty much already gone. Between the insurers and the govt, most physicians don't have a snowball's chance in heck of ever gaining any control over their business. Everyone bitches about how much money we make, but no one seems to notice that it's a whole lot harder to get your banker or broker on the phone at 3am than it is to get one of us. In my specialty (anesthesiology), the national median work week (50% work more, 50% less) is nearly 60 hours, and it's not because we just love our jobs (although I think most of us do - we just hate the environment). It wears on you when you can't even start working until you're in your 30's (depending on training length.) I could go on a long time about this, but I'm already sounding too whiny. I'm in the process of starting a second career because I don't see anything but a bleak future in medicine; I hope to be out of it within a year, depending on how my business starts up (and the damn economy's not helping a bit...)

Comment by Bonnie S on March 24, 2009 at 5:09pm

Al: You peeked my interest and so I googled "investing, land leases, wind". Haven't read many but seems a little riskier than you report. They appear quite legit, but they're up against the same old thing with landowners....they think they're sitting on a gold mine and will sit and sit and wait for a higher and higher price to be paid. Will have to research the sites somemore. If they don't watch out, you can expect this government, in their infinite wisdom, to start claming eminent domain. They are already talking about limiting executive pay. The next thing to go will be the MDs (how about you?). Then the engineers (me). It will be so nifty when the government is our real boss. They are, after all, the people most capable of determining this kind of thing, don't you think? Sarcasm.

Comment by Al Davis, MD on March 24, 2009 at 2:38pm

Here's a fascinating, but superficial, discussion about non-traditional methods of investing in wind and natural gas energy. The column is from a publication entitled "The Triton - News for the megayacht and superyacht Industry." Presumably, these are not inexpensive investments, but the author does mention 18% annual returns!

-----------------

Alternative energy offers alternative to stock market
23 February, 2009 11:55:00
Mark A. Cline

I remember my first boat job more than 20 years ago. Thinking back, I was quite impressed on how environmentally conscious the crew was with the cleaning supplies they used and the way they did things around the boat.

Back then, environmental concerns were not as common as they are today. Everywhere you turn now new companies are forming and old companies are changing to feed the demand for green energy and recycling. Many of my clients ask me how to invest in green energy and in environmentally conscious companies.

My research in investments is often prompted by my clients, and environmental interests are important to many of them in today’s market. Many of these environmental investments are outside the stock market.

One company I have researched is involved with wind, natural gas, water and pipeline rights. This month’s column is intended to touch on the general concepts of how these investments work. Feel free to continue your research if something interests you.

Wind farming is experiencing explosive growth in the United States as state and federal mandates drive heavy demand for renewable energy sources. The Department of Energy reports that 20 percent of America’s electricity can come from wind. Developing wind power is an investment in rural America.

Having said that, the next question is how can investors get involved in wind energy?

Companies that manufacture and install windmills need land for windmill operation. These companies are typically not in the real estate business, so they go to companies that specialize in purchasing or leasing tracks of land.

In rural areas, many different farm land owners may have to be put together to cover an area to develop a windmill farm. I am not going to get into the details of research and negotiations needed to close these deals. Needless to say, the windmill companies are not equipped to handle this process of setting up a place to put a windmill farm.

Think of this as a broker bringing two deals together. The windmill installers need a place to set up the windmill farm and the landowners would like an extra income source from their land. This broker creates a contingent contract on both sides to make this happen. Typically, it is a two-year process to complete these negotiations.

But someone needs to pay the farmers for their land since the windmill companies typically don’t have the capital to do that. That’s where investors come in. The broker must ensure a good profit for the investors loaning the funds. These contracts are all integrated with each other to protect everyone involved.

The investor on this kind of program can get upward of an 18 percent return per year. Similar to a short-term note this is typically a two-year program where you get interest payments and then your principal is returned at the end of the term.

Another form of energy is natural gas. As the United States strives to reduce its dependency on foreign oil, it is turning more and more to natural gas as an alternative source of fuel.

Not only is natural gas the second largest energy source in the United States, it is also one of the cleanest, safest and most useful forms of energy. Natural gas markets will continue to provide significant opportunities.

According to a 2008 report from the U.S. government’s Energy Information Administration, total U.S. natural gas reserves resources that have been identified have increased for the past eight years. Recent drilling trends indicate continued growth, with a stronger concentration on unconventional resources such as shale. Shale formations in the lower 48 states are widely distributed, large, and contain huge resources of natural gas, the report stated.

Pipeline transportation of water and gas is vital to meeting our nation’s growing energy and water needs. By acquiring properties that are well positioned in the path of pipeline development, surface acreage generates tremendous value through the negotiation of pipeline rights-of-way.

Needless to say this should be looked at as an alternative investment outside of the typical stock market investment. This type of investment is not affected as much as our current stock market.

As with any investment, do your research, diversify and ask a lot of questions to make sure it fits into your long-term plan.

Capt. Mark A. Cline is a chartered senior financial planner and mortgage broker. He is a partner in Capital Marine Alliance in Ft. Lauderdale. Comments on this column are welcome at +1-954-764-2929 or through www.capitalmarinealliance.net .

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