Worrisome Notice in a Bad News Week

The week of January 21^st held quite a bit of bad news, much of it related to the news of the Trump Administration with its self-harming shutdown of the federal government over Congressional unwillingness to pay for an ill-advised wall along the Mexico-U.S. border.  There was other bad news that went unnoticed as federal workers started lining up at food banks and airports began to fill with travelers stranded because unpaid federal security personnel could no longer pay for gas to get to work.  PG&E Corporation (PCG:  NYSE), the besieged electric utility in California, announced a decision not to renew its license for the Potter Valley hydroelectric power plant.

Plastics Producer Turns Environmental Guardian

One of the world’s largest producers of plastic, LyondellBasell Industries N.V.  (LYB: NYSE), is maneuvering to the front in the war on plastic pollution.  In early January 2019, the company announced that its chief executive officer will be playing a leadership role in the new Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW).  LyondellBasell is one of the founding members alongside twenty-nine other producers and users of plastic such as BASF, Dow and ExxonMobile.  The group plans to invest at least $1.5 billion over the next five years to help end plastic waste in the environment. 

At first blush the formation of this new organization might seem disingenuous on the part of those companies that have profited mightily from the creation of the plastics in the first place.  Be that as it may, it is now wise to accept the new enthusiasm of this group.  According to Global Industry Analysts, worldwide plastic consumption now exceeds 300 million tons per year, of which less than one-fifth is recycled.  Some of the rest ends up in landfills, but the majority ends up floating in our oceans and rivers or tossed carelessly along roads or strewn across meadows and fields.  There are few entities with greater capital or scientific resources than the plastics producers themselves.

Shareholders Cry Foul as UQM Agrees to Buyout

UQM Technologies (UQM:  NYSE) has agreed to be acquired by Danfoss Power Solutions for $1.71 per share in cash, providing a deal value near $100 million.  UQM leadership expects timely review by government authorities and has recommended approval of the deal by shareholders.  A date has not been set for the required shareholder vote.  Assuming all goes according to schedule, a deal closing is possible sometime in the second quarter 2019.

Electric propulsion and generation technologies are at the core of UQM’s solutions for manufacturing, transportation and power industries.  The substitution of electric motors for combustion engines has been driving demand for the UQM’s products.  Market opportunities have abounded for UQM and the world economy attempts to wean itself off environmentally damaging fossil fuels.  The company has reported steady increases in sales for the last five years, mushrooming to $10.9 million in the twelve months ending September 2018.

Some UQM shareholders may find inadequate the offer of $1.71 per share.  During a conference call held with shareholders to discuss the Danfoss offer, UQM management cited competitive concerns as the primary reason behind the decision to accept the offer.  Demand conditions are excellent but the team sounded a practical caution on the challenges of capturing market share for a small company strong on technology and light on market access.

Covanta Turns Ash Collector

City Garbage and Trash Collection circa 1900

Well into the early 1900s ash collectors plied the streets of America’s cities, picking up ash buckets left at curbs and stoops by households and businesses.  The ash collectors sold as much as possible for brick making and soil improvement.  The rest went to the handiest dumps.

Since then large utilities have taken over the job of heating and lighting buildings.  Coal-fired power plants have become the largest producers of ash.  The American Coal Ash Association reports that 53 million metric tons of coal cash were generated in 2013, of which 23 million metric tons were re-used for cement and bricks.  The rest was stored in landfills or special disposal sites, in such large quantities presenting potential sources of pollution for nearby water bodies. 

Ash Pond at Coal-fired Power Plant

There are other sources of ash.  Municipal waste is increasingly diverted from landfills to incineration in waste-to-energy systems.  At the beginning of 2018, there were 86 municipal waste incinerators in the United States, burning about 29 million tons of garbage annually.  These incinerators produced about 0.4% of total U.S. electricity in 2015.    Besides electricity these incinerators produce a lot of unburnt material and plenty of ash. 

Alternatives for Energy: Smarting Up

“I love lists.  Always have. When I was 14, I wrote down every dirty word I knew on file cards and placed them in alphabetical order.  I have a thing about collections, and a list is a collection with purchase.”       ― Adam Savage, cohost of MythBusters and Unchained Reaction

The annual update of Crystal Equity Research’s Energy Alternatives indices has been completed.  Merger, bankruptcies and just plain old ‘tossing in the towel’ actions took a number of companies out of our broadly defined sector of energy alternatives.  Undeterred by start-up risks, entrepreneurs and inventors have been busy bringing new technologies and solutions to the market.  The Energy Alternatives indices encompass over 750 public and private companies, all of which present interesting investment opportunities for the shrewd investor.

Perhaps not as entertaining as Adam Savage’s dirty word list, our lists or indices have plenty of ‘purchase.’  The Mothers of Invention is divided into wide ranging groups of companies that are bringing daring, ‘out of the box’ thinking to energy production and the way humans uses the resources around us.  This group has seen the most change, in part because many of the ideas were long shots in the first place and prone to failure.  We have also expanded our view of what types of technologies should be included.

Alternatives for Energy: Powerful Particles

“I love lists.  Always have. When I was 14, I wrote down every dirty word I knew on file cards and placed them in alphabetical order.  I have a thing about collections, and a list is a collection with purchase.”       ― Adam Savage, cohost of MythBusters and Unchained Reaction

The Energy Alternatives lists are no competition for Adam Savage’s dirty word list, but they still have plenty of ‘purchase.’  The annual update of Crystal Equity Research’s Energy Alternatives indices has been completed.  Merger, bankruptcies and just plain old ‘tossing in the towel’ actions took a number of companies out of our broadly defined sector of energy alternatives.  Undeterred by start-up risks, entrepreneurs and inventors have been busy bringing new technologies and solutions to the market.  The Energy Alternatives indices encompass over 750 public and private companies, all of which present interesting investment opportunities for the shrewd investor.

The Atomics Index

Alternatives for Energy: Earth on Fire

“I love lists.  Always have. When I was 14, I wrote down every dirty word I knew on file cards and placed them in alphabetical order.  I have a thing about collections, and a list is a collection with purchase.”       ― Adam Savage, cohost of MythBusters and Unchained Reaction

Perhaps not as entertaining as Adam Savage’s dirty word list, our lists or indices have plenty of ‘purchase.’  Our lists focus on companies that offer energy alternatives to fossil fuels  -  solar, wind, geothermal and various biofuels.  This post highlights the Electric Earth Index of companies tapped the kinetic powers of the earth itself  - geothermal, tidal, wave, wind, and concentrating solar applications. 

The annual update of Crystal Equity Research’s Energy Alternatives indices has been completed.  Merger, bankruptcies and just plain old ‘tossing in the towel’ actions took a number of companies out of our broadly defined sector of energy alternatives.  Undeterred by start-up risks, entrepreneurs and inventors have been busy bringing new technologies and solutions to the market.  The Energy Alternatives indices encompass over 750 public and private companies, all of which present interesting investment opportunities for the shrewd investor.

Alternatives for Energy: Basking in the Sun

“I love lists.  Always have. When I was 14, I wrote down every dirty word I knew on file cards and placed them in alphabetical order.  I have a thing about collections, and a list is a collection with purchase.”       ― Adam Savage, cohost of MythBusters and Unchained Reaction

Perhaps not as entertaining as Adam Savage’s dirty word list, our lists or indices have plenty of ‘purchase.’  Our lists focus on companies that offer energy alternatives to fossil fuels  -  solar, wind, geothermal and various biofuels.  Not to be hemmed in by conventional categorization, we have also included companies with technology to use energy more efficiently or to re-purpose materials for better deployment in energy applications.  These trailblazers have provided excellent investment opportunities for investors willing to take a chance on new technologies. 

The annual update of Crystal Equity Research’s Energy Alternatives indices has been completed.  Merger, bankruptcies and just plain old ‘tossing in the towel’ actions took a number of companies out of our broadly defined sector of energy alternatives.  Undeterred by start-up risks, entrepreneurs and inventors have been busy bringing new technologies and solutions to the market.  Thus, as doors closed, windows of opportunity opened elsewhere.  The Energy Alternatives indices still encompass over 750 public and private companies, all of which present interesting investment choices for the shrewd investor.

Happy New Year!

"For last year’s words belong to last year’s language. 

And next year’s words await another voice. 

And to make an end is to make a beginning."    T.S. Eliot

Happy New Year 2019

Crystal Equity Research