Posts Tagged by Bill Paul
Why I Wouldn't Buy Tesla
| June 30, 2010 | Posted by BillPaul under Electric Vehicles |
Tesla, the electric sports-car manufacturer, had a very successful IPO yesterday and today the stock continues to rise. Personally, I wouldn’t go near it. Battery technology still has a long way to go. When it does get there –probably in 3-4 years time — people will want “quick charge” capability, something their local electric utilitiy may not be able to provide. Again, just my opinion, but better to avoid a hyped-up company like Tesla and buy into the companies that must and rebuild the world’s high-voltage grid infrastructure, firms like Siemens, ABB and MYR Group.
Another 2GreenEnergy Webinar – Bill Paul on Investing in the Smart Grid
| June 17, 2010 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Business |
Earlier today I interviewed Bill Paul in our continuing series of webinars – this one on Smart Grid. I could tell that the audience was engaged; they asked terrific questions and really liked the pace of the whole 60-minute session.
To me, the most interesting aspect of the discussion was Bill’s assertion that “this may not happen.” Though he’s bullish on Smart Grid technology overall, Bill sees many impediments standing in the way of implementing it fully – especially in the US. He points out that there are legal issues associated with privacy, and that the power companies themselves are, as usual, in no hurry to bring about a change – especially one that will result in less total power sold. Bill goes on to point out that, while Finland has one regulatory body that can (and did) simply mandate Smart Grid, we Americans have 50 states, each of which has the power to push this hard, or pull even harder in the opposite direction.
Countering Bill’s concerns, I point out that:
1) Even after a rough start out here on the West Coast, people are going to love Smart Grid – especially to the degree that they adopt electric vehicles into their lives and start to spend a couple of bucks per day fueling their cars with electricity (versus about 4 times that much for gasoline). Time-of-use metering that enables people to buy power at 8 cents a kWh versus 30 cents is going to be perceived as very attractive.
2) Smart Grid is going to happen; it’s simply a matter of time. As I like to say, “Do you think we’re going to be driving Hummers in 100 years?” The only real questions are when it’s going to happen, and who is going to profit from it.
It was Bill’s vast subject-matter knowledge — but also this friendly disagreement — that made today’s webinar such a success. To those of you who may have missed this one, I hope you’ll join us next time.
Why the Lights Could Go Out All Across America
| June 8, 2010 | Posted by BillPaul under Renewables - Business |
Last week I warned about the danger of not anticipating the “what ifs” of energy, specifically, what if there is a deepwater drilling disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Here’s a “what if” for electricity that should be keeping everyone up at night. What if there’s even a minor accident at nuclear power plant? In wake of Gulf oil spill, every one of the US’s 100+ commercial reactors would be have to be inspected, which likely would reveal brittle fracture and other problems brought on by age that Washington has been trying to avoid dealing with because the US has no substitute for nuclear power. Perhaps as many as 5 or 10 plants might have to be shut down for safety reasons, some maybe permanently, creating a power crisis.
Invest in Electric Transportation
| June 8, 2010 | Posted by adam under Electric Vehicles |
I am not sure about this smart grid. Yes, it will happen but if the only reason is the Government funding it, I know it will be a failure. Smart investors will jump in early and then leave early before the big crash, sticking small investors badly.
As I keep saying, until the Government sets a National energy policy (which they never will because it will not be conducive for getting re-elected), status quo will remain the low cost alternative and alternative energy will fail. Congress can’t get there with dumb things little higher CAFE or cap and trade.
My company with our product EcoV does not need subsidy. EcoV will save our customers money today. We don’t need tax credits either. But we do need investment capital.
What does Bill Paul think about us? Probably not much, because we are not big enough to worry about. Nobody in the investment community thinks small, solid companies that can be profitable in there niche are worth considering. This is why so many small businesses are going out of business. No interest from the bankers.
Too bad. If this country does not start creating wealth through manufacturing, we will not survive.
Richard Marks
President
CNBC Carrying Warning about BP's Future
| June 7, 2010 | Posted by BillPaul under Renewables - Business |
When the mainstream financial media start running stories warning about “the end” of BP, it’s the final nail in the coffin. Gonna say it one last time: BP files for court protection against its creditors by Labor Day, leaving US taxpayers to pick up the multi-billion-dollar clean-up and damages tab.
Free Webinar – Bill Paul on the Smart-Grid
| June 6, 2010 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Business |
Governments are throwing billions at smart-grid development. Industry giants from IT, transportation, and communications are jockeying to dominate what will be a complete transformation of electric utilities.
The world is in the process of migrating from a one-way communication , i.e., flow of electricity from the utility to the customer, to two-way communication, where the billions of devices that use electrical power communicate back to the utility. And the benefits will be magnificent: saving energy, lowering cost, increasing reliability, and ultimately enabling electric transportation and better penetration of renewable energy.
Normally, when I write about such things, it’s to enable readers to understand the issues surrounding how things will work, as well as when and why it will happen. Here, it’s for a different purpose, to let you know how you can profit from it. My colleague Bill Paul has been successfully prognosticating stock market ups and downs for more than 20 years. As a staff writer for the Wall Street Journal, and as a commentator on CNBC, he’s earned the respect of investors around the globe.
If you’re interested to know how you can pick the right horses in the incredible steeplechase in smart-grid, mark you calendar and join us for a free webinar, Thursday, June 17, at 10:00 AM PDT (1:00 PM EDT), in which Bill will be “grilled” by a few people – including me – and you, if you’d like to participate.
If you’re interested in “Bill Paul on the Smart-Grid,” sign up here. I’ll look forward to having you in the discussion.
BP Effectively Says Its Dividend is at Risk
| June 4, 2010 | Posted by BillPaul under Renewables - Business |
Following up on yesterday’s post about how investors should be prepared for BP to file for bankruptcy, the company’s CEO this morning reportedly said it’s “hard to speculate” on future dividend policy. That’s tantamount to BP’s saying it will reduce or eliminate its dividend. I’ll say it again: look for BP to file for court protection before the end of summer.
Investors Should Assume BP Bankruptcy Will Happen
| June 3, 2010 | Posted by BillPaul under Renewables - Business |
The reason why the BP Gulf oil spill occurred was that nobody thought it would occur. Nobody asked the “What if . . . ” question.
Investors should not make the same mistake. With estimates of BP’s financial liability rising by the minute, at the very least investors should expect BP to suspend dividend payments. More than that, investors should be prepared for BP’s lawyers to walk into a friendly Texas courtroom sometime this summer and get a judge to grant them court protection against legal claims. Technically it will be a bankruptcy filing, although Americans will gnash their teeth at how BP continues to operate normally.
When the filing occurs, the whole market likely will take a tumble. A lot of other “What if . . . ” questions may be asked that destabilize markets for several months. I’ll try to ask a few of those “What if . . .” questions in my next few postings.
Bill Paul’s Webinar
| May 12, 2010 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Business |
I want to thank everyone who attended Tuesday’s webinar with Bill Paul. In his characteristically humble manner, Bill asked me as we were leaving the room if he handled himself well with the questions from the audience and me. Yes, Bill, you were terrific. I apologize, however, for the technical glitches. We’re scheduling another webinar soon, and I promise to have addressed the noise issues and other annoyances.
Renewable Energy Financial Report – Bill Paul
| May 11, 2010 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Business |
It’s amazing how coincidences pile up around us. I’m going into the Alternative Energy Investing webinar with Bill Paul wondering what I should ask him about, and I happen to be looking at yesterday’s Wall Street Journal with its huge and utterly glowing report on shale gas. This got me thinking:
I wonder how objective these people are? Am I just cynical, or do I perceive that there is a reason behind virtually every word in that paper? All I really learn from articles like this is that someone wants me to believe shale gas is a huge game-charger in the energy industry. Perhaps I’m being unfair. Let’s ask Bill and get his opinions.
But aren’t these extraction techniques fantastically unsound ecologically? And does shale gas impact anyone outside the US?
Hope you’ll join us.
