OUTLOOK The Alternative Energy industry is going through a recovery after absorbing the global recession and the cascading fall in global crude oil prices. Earlier this year, quite a few alternative energy companies were in the trough. Though these companies have recovered from their lows, their valuations are still significantly lower than their 52-week highs. The growth of alternative energy companies is closely tied to the fortunes of the economy. In its latest release, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicted that total U.S. electricity consumption will decline by 3.3% in 2009 before growing by 1.3% in 2010 as the improving economy coaxes a gradual recovery in electricity sales. In fiscal 2008, annual U.S. photovoltaic (PV) installed capacity grew by 63% year-over-year, bringing the cumulative installed capacity to 792MW. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) -- the U.S. trade association representing close to 500 companies ...

An article in the New York Times last week about careers in solar energy revealed a shocking number - one that would certainly make me look elsewhere for job. As an investor, this particular number would also call into question the true growth of solar energy over the next few years.

The Times’ story cited the Solar Energy Industries Association as reporting that 3,400 companies in the solar energy sector employ only 25,000 to 35,000 workers, including installers, manufacturers, distributors and project developers and materials suppliers. Those numbers are expected to hit more 110,000 employees by 2016, according to the association.

Wait a minute: So seven years from now, this highly touted, save-the-world market will employ only 110,000 people?

From an investor’s perspective, I thought that number was absolutely puny. Let’s put that into perspective…

– Toyota employs 110,000 part-time workers. – That’s the number of foreclosure notices sent to homeowners in California during

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October 16, 2008 – We attended the Solar International Expo this week in San Diego and were amazed by the participation and attendance for the event by the industry trade, as well as Wall Street. On Tuesday, Lazard held a closed conference for the industry’s leading solar firms, attended by its institutional clients, and yesterday, Piper Jaffray held a Symposium of its own for leading solar firms, and we attended that event, with a client of ours Premier Power (OTCBB:PPRW). Other firms in attendance at Piper’s Symposium were JA Solar (Nasdaq:JASO), GT Solar (Nasdaq:SOLR), Canadian Solar (Nasdaq:CSIQ), Applied Materials (Nasdaq:AMAT), Energy Conversion Devices (Nasdaq:ENER), LDK Solar (NYSE:LDK), BP Global Wind and Solar (NYSE:BP), Suntech Power (NYSE:STP), ReneSolar (NYSE:SOL), Trina Solar (NYSE:TSL), Akeena Solar (Nasdaq:AKNS), Q-Cells (QWV.DE) and Solarfun (Nasdaq:SOLF). Here are some of our notes from the presentations: Overall, one of the takeaways was that there are expectations for further ...