Tidal power, not to be confuesed with wave power, is the conversion of the energy of tides into electricity. Tides are the rising and falling motion of the earth’s ocean surface caused by the gravitational tidal forces of the Moon and the Sun. Tide mills have been around for a very long time, reportedly since Roman times. Tide power is one of the most renewable sources of energy in existance, since tides last forever.

Pacific Gas and Electric (PCG) is building the first American commercial tidal and wave power plant in Northern California, in conjunction with Finavera, which will be located 2.5 miles off the California coast and is expected to begin operations in a few years, providing power to about 1500 homes. The contract to begin the project was signed in 2007. The stock has a PE of 14, a PEG of 1.86 and a yield of 4% .

Ocean Power Technologies, Inc (OPTT) develops proprietary systems that generate electricity through ocean tides and waves. Their PowerBuoy system is used to supply electricity to local and regional electric power grids. The company recently generated negative earnings of $1.38 per share. This is a very low cap stock of less than $95 million and should therefore be considered very speculative.

General Electric (GE) has invested in several marine energy companies. The stock has a PE of 13, a PEG of 1.13, and a yield of 4.5%.

Pelamis Wave Power, formerly known as Ocean Power Delivery, is a privately held company which has several owners including various venture capital funds and Norsk Hydro ADR (NHYDY.PK). Norsk Hydro has a PE of 5 and a yield of 5.5% .

E.ON AG (EONGY.PK) is a German based company which has been investing in small marine energy companies. The stock has a PE of 13 and a yield of 3.2%.

RWE AG ADR (RWEOY.PK) RWE’s NPower announced that it is in partnership with Marine Current Turbines to build a tidal farm of SeaGen turbines off the coast of Anglesey in Wales. The stock has a PE of 23 and a yield of 4%.

Other types of renewable energy stocks include co-generation stocks, solar stocks, fuel cell stocks, wind power stocks, geothermal stocks, flywheel stocks, and methane stocks.

Author does not own any of the above.

By Fred Fuld at Stockerblog.com

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