A few years ago I was talking with a Dutch entrepreneur who owns a CNC milling factory in Romania. He was manufacturing small pieces for the aeronautical industry. And here's what he said:
Pay attention to the green energy industry. In the future, you don't necessarily need to be a big player to make money.
You can manufacture or distribute any piece that goes into a wind turbine or a solar panel (cables included). It doesn't matter how small or simple it may be.
Consider the electrical gear that is used both in solar and wind energy industries - inverters (and pieces that go inside them), data cables, connectors - and you've got yourself a large spectrum to choose from.
Let's take this rail clamp for instance. We use it to fix the solar panel rails on corrugated iron roofs.
How hard would be to manufacture this?
There's a CNC shop right in my home city - that's where I ordered some alucobond plates for my DIY steadicam rig. I bet they can make this element as well.
Cut the pieces out of a larger metal sheet, drill two holes for the screws, bend them a little and glue some padding on one side. Bam! A simple yet valuable piece - used in thousands on each rooftop solar farm.
Is there a market for this?
Of course there is. And this is just the beginning. Since PV panels are so versatile and easy to adopt, the industry will be mainstream (isn't it already?) in a few years.
Just as you cannot miss seeing cars if you go outside, that's how solar panels are gonna be in the following years: omnipresent.
Adjacent areas to invest in besides PV panels and wind turbines
Anything in between basically:
- Solar panel mounting systems
- Aluminum manufacturers (rails, profiles, clamps)
- CNC milling shops
- Cables and connectors
- Fiber glass and light composites manufacturing (wind turbine wings)
- Electrical components for inverters and connection boxes
- Gear boxes (used inside turbines to amplify spin)
- Plexiglass and thermo-plastics
- Dynamos
- Light and pressure sensors
- Automation systems and robotics
- Smart and protective packaging for safe transportation and easy handling
- Wireless technologies for sending data
- Software and web applications to monitor power output
This list is by no means exhaustive. The point is you can find an opportunity anywhere along the supply chain in the solar panels industry or in the wind turbine energy field.
And since green energy also means bio-diesel, tidal and other renewable sources, you can go even further and develop a niche based business.
Truth is, the more complex your product or service, the less competition you'll face. But if you want to invest just cash, you gotta know that there are more options out there besides solar stocks.
Look out for listed companies that activate in adjacent industries. Study their clientele. See how much of their annual revenues are influenced by the green energy sector.
I'm no experienced investor. All I'm doing is throwing educated guesses.
- How about you?
- Do you think there's opportunity in the green energy sector for small dogs?
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