How to Profit From the Texas Energy Crisis
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement:
The state of Texas will continue to investigate [the Electric Reliability Council of Texas] and uncover the full picture of what went wrong.
Well, I can save the state a lot of time and money on that investigation.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that the state's grid failed because it wasn't properly prepared for the kind of winter storm it got. It's really just that simple.
The grid in Texas was never designed to perform in harsh winter conditions. And why would it have been? It's not as if Texas is a state that gets a lot of below-freezing temperatures and snowstorms.
Although we will see more of both those things in the coming years as extreme weather events are starting to become as common in Texas as Taco Cabanas and rabid football fans.
Grid operators have actually known this for a while, and suggestions had been made to upgrade the grid to handle the uptick in these extreme weather events. Unfortunately, those suggestions were either trivialized or politicized.
To be honest, though, I just think someone crunched the numbers on this and figured it would cost far more to update the grid than it would to deal with the aftermath of a grid failure due to a single winter storm.
But since these winter storms can no longer be considered rare, freakish events, changes are going to happen. In fact, they're already happening. And all I'm seeing are dollar signs!
Pay Close Attention
It was very interesting to see many of my liberal friends instantly attack lawmakers in Texas for not having enough renewable energy in place prior to this storm, declaring that if the state did have more renewable energy in place, this never would've happened.
This is, for lack of a better word, stupid.
The truth is about 25% of the state's electricity already comes from wind power. Texas actually produces more wind power than any other state in the nation.
It's not about the absence of renewable energy at all.
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There absolutely is a transition of the Texas energy economy from one that was once heavily weighted in fossil fuels to one that will ultimately be heavily weighted in renewables.
This is an undeniable fact.
And investors would be wise to pay close attention to the opportunity this presents.
Don't Get Mad. Get Rich!
After the political theatrics subside and a few sacrificial lambs have been slaughtered, lawmakers are going to start working with grid operators to ensure that the grid can withstand future extreme winter events. I expect to see letters of intent (LOIs) and copies of purchase orders as further proof of this as soon as next month.
They're also going to quietly make it easier for homeowners and businesses to install new solar power systems, as such systems can reduce resource constraints that contributed to the grid's inability to provide power during that last winter storm.
This will likely come in the form of new tax incentives and creative finance offerings.
Not that I really care how it's done. All I care about is capitalizing on what will absolutely be a booming year for solar in Texas. And that's why I'm very bullish on solar installers operating in Texas this year.
I'm even more bullish on new solar technologies that could have a real shot at proving their value out in the field.
One company in particular has developed a new "solar spray" that can essentially turn any flat surface - mostly windows, though - into a miniature power plant. And it can do so at a huge discount compared with what it costs to slap up some conventional solar panels on a hot Texas roof.
Now, I'm not a scientist or an engineer, so don't ask me how this stuff works.
All I know is that I've seen it work in the lab, and pretty soon we're going to see it work out in the real world... which is why I've been encouraging investors to learn more about this company in this special investor report that outlines how the technology works and just how profitable it could be for investors who get an early piece of it.
You can read that report here.
I do realize this issue will continue to be politicized for weeks and months to come. But for me, it's just background noise. Because no matter where you stand on why this happened, the bottom line is that the recent failure of Texas' electrical grid has presented one hell of an opportunity for you to make a lot of money. So you might as well take it.
To a new way of life and a new generation of wealth...
Jeff Siegel
@JeffSiegel on Twitter
Jeff is the founder and managing editor of Green Chip Stocks, a private investment community that capitalizes on opportunities in alternative energy, organic food markets, legal cannabis, and socially responsible investing. He has been a featured guest on Fox, CNBC, and Bloomberg Asia, and is the author of the best-selling book, Investing in Renewable Energy: Making Money on Green Chip Stocks. For more on Jeff, go to his editor's page.