The Electric Car is Back

Time for a reality check. What has been happening in the dynamic world of energy and utilities while I have been isolated in a small dark room with a microscope? Many things it seems. Starting with the most obvious - oil prices are up again. Frankly, I am not surprised. Additionally, there have been worries that the golden child of alternative energy - ethanol, may soon face problems related to overproduction. However, this may benefit the Archer Daniels Midland corporation. Unlike smaller companies which are exclusively oriented towards ethanol production, Archer has a far more diversified portfolio. It manufactures a larger variety of corn products and is able to produce ethanol more cheaply than competitors. For those investors out there, check out ADM and see what you think.

The above information about ADM came mainly from an article at Forbes.com. While there, I checked out Forbes' new section, sponsored by BP, on green energy solutions. They have a kind of neat article about the world's greenest billionaires - kind of cool to read. I guess if we all had tons of money, it would be a lot easier to make environmental problems disappear. Take Bill Gates for example, he subsidizes hybrid cars for Microsoft employees and his firm has invested quite a bit of money into Pacific Ethanol (PEIX). Then there are the two co-founders of Google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who have turned Google's head quarters into a green mansion paradise. Interestingly, both also own shares of Tesla - an electric car company. Now that, I don't believe is simply good environmentalism. Instead, Tesla is an excellent company with a good business plan. I would invest in it myself if it were publicly traded.

In fact - its worth it, I promise. Check out www.teslamotors.com to find out a bit more about the company. I am posting a picture below (from their website) of their ridiculous electric sports car.



Want to venture a guess as to how expensive it is? Try $98,000. A bit out of my price range. But a pretty sweeet car. Hope everyone is enjoying the cool, albeit rainy weekend.