Some of the attendees to "Engaging Women in Clean Energy Solutions." (Photo Credit: Douglas Walls)

This Mother’s Day was more than flowers for a stirring crowd at the Denver Convention Center during WREF 2012.  With more attendees than seating, the full-day workshop “Engaging Women in Clean Energy Solutions” began as game of musical chairs (with real music by Sue Blessing.)

Dr. Barbara Farhar, the workshop’s Chair, opened with a moving reminder that Mothers’ Day began as a protest against the carnage of the Civil War.  Julia Ward Howe wrote the Mother’s Day Proclamation in 1870:  “We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies … our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience,” and proposed that women gather“… to promote the alliance of the different nationalities, the amicable settlement of international questions, the great and general interests of peace.”  Ms. Howe, speaking in a day when women had as little voice in this country as they still do in developing places, would have been glad to hear her expression of the women’s centrality to development so reflected by the work presented today.

Solar Suitcase (Photo Credit: We Care Solar)

Rural solar electrification is the perfect Mother’s Day topic, as one of its most direct benefits is the safe delivery of babies in off-grid areas of the world.  In sub-Saharan Africa, a woman has a 1 in 22 chance of dying from complications of pregnancy.  In response, We Care Solar founder Dr Laura Stachel and Hal Aronson developed and distributed the “Solar Suitcase,” a modular solar power station integrating lights and outlets tailored to the needs of a clinic.  They found that to make an operating room safe required only 15W of power, and observed a decrease in maternal mortality of 70%.  Since maternity wards are customarily a woman’s domain, We Care Solar and their networks recruit and train women in the use and promotion of the Solar Suitcase.

Solar electrification has many other benefits in areas where kerosene is the only source of light when the sun goes down.  Kerosene is expensive, dangerous and emits toxic fumes.  With solar lights, children can safely study for school after the day’s work, a disproportionate share of which often falls on girls.  Elephant Energy and its partners develop and distribute solar lights, and promote their sale through existing mercantile networks in Africa as well as on the home front, in the open spaces of the Navajo Reservation.

Trudie Kayunde was the first mother to deliver her baby under an Elephant Energy solar light. (Photo credit: Elephant Energy)

Clean cookstoves are another frontier where women are the chief adopters and promoters.  “Cooking [in Africa] is not the pleasure it is here,” says Nozipho Mabebe Wright, of ENERGIA Africa.  Biomass burning in the enclosure of the home kills up to 2 million people per year — mostly women and children – inflicting cataracts, respiratory diseases, and pneumonia.  Wright tells of a World Bank-endorsed program to introduce clean, efficient cookstoves, and Susan Kinne, of Grupo Fenix in Nicaragua, shows how international designers collaborate with local craftsmen to create stoves and fuel from local materials.  Clean cookstoves eliminate the treks women make (up to six hours a day) to receding forests, and the greenhouse gases released by burning those forests.  In a policy environment that favors pouring money into education, Wright and a network of women in Africa and Asia advocate for funding for first needs – a clean and healthy home environment.

Grupo Fenix develops solar cookers and other clean techology through "edutourism" of visiting students and professionals collaborating with local craftspeople. (Photo Credit: Grupo Fenix)

This year’s WREF takes place on the verge of June’s “Rio +20” United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, where 60,000 people are expected to converge in a sequel to the groundbreaking conference of 20 years ago.  Gail Karlsson, ENERGIA’s Senior Policy Advisor, will be there, but like many at this workshop, her hopes are dampened by frustration with the political allergy to clean energy and sustainability that currently keeps it in the realm of science fiction.  “I never could imagine that sustainable energy and climate change could become so political,” she says.  Without political progress on clean energy, all the engineering genius in the world, including that of her two sons, (one at Columbia and one at MIT), cannot make a dent.

It seems that these are not women’s issues — they are everyone’s.  Everyone has a mother, and is here because they were safely born.  Everyone needs clean air, clean water, and food.  Everyone needs a livelihood and to be reared in enough prosperity to support their development, education and dreams.  Men (and the boys who will become men) benefit as much as women do from the initiatives presented today.  If these initiatives can make themselves understood as the needs of whole families, they will not fall on deaf ears.  And if clean energy can be understood as a key component of global development – the reduction of poverty and avoidance of war over resources – then it may attract the political eye.

“If we ignore women, we are limping [on one leg],” said Dr. Abdulaziz Altwaijri, Director General of ISESCO, which represents development interests in the Islamic world.  He spoke to a crowd of both women and men.  The level of energy in this room brightened the hopes of all of us who want to see the benefits of clean technology extended to the developing world (even if we did have to sneak out to call our mothers.)

Courtesy of Vestas Wind Systems A/S

In spite of some headwinds from natural gas, there remain some opportunities for green-energy investors. But selecting investments in the current market will be challenging. For example, First Solar (FSLR), a photovoltaics company that was trading at $129/share last summer, was trading around $18 in May. Similarly, Vestas Wind Systems (VWDRY), a wind turbine manufacturer, has seen its stock plummet from $11.5 to less than $3.  While stock price does not directly affect a company’s operations, it can hamper its ability to secure operational loans and drive up interest rates on its bonds.

To be successful, the green-energy investor must understand the market drivers. Increased domestic natural gas and oil production are providing the United States with very low conventional energy prices. And they are headed lower as utilities and fleet services convert to gas. NSTAR, for example, a Boston utility, has been converting and has announced electric rate reductions of over 30 percent. These low prices steepen the competitive challenge for renewable generators.

And there are other dynamics. The economic malaise in Europe has forced Germany and Italy to curtail their renewable incentive programs. And domestic fallout over Solyndra has hampered the Obama administration’s loan program for renewable startups.

Still, there are prospects for green energy. Energy costs in overseas markets remain high and many countries have limited fossil fuel distribution systems, making them ideal candidates for renewables. In the United States many incentive programs remain healthy. Ironically, many renewable manufacturers use conventional energy for their processes and will benefit from the lower prices.  Diversified green-energy companies who capitalize on these opportunities will flourish.

Many investment vehicles are available to tailor a portfolio to an individual’s goals and risk tolerance. For example, investment-grade corporate bonds can safely produce steady income. On the other hand, stocks (also called equities) can produce spectacular returns, but are volatile. Mutual Funds and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) offer a viable means to invest in equities without direct exposure to the risk of individual stocks.

A bond is a debt instrument in which a company receives investor money and promises to repay the loan with interest. Maturity periods for bonds range from a few months to decades. The quality of bond — its rating — is based on the integrity of the issuing company. The highest rated bonds pay the lowest interest rates.  Long-term bonds pay more than shorter ones.

While smaller renewable energy companies typically do not issue bonds, large ones that are diversified into renewables do. One is General Electric (GE), which operates a wind turbine manufacturing subsidiary.

One can find and buy bonds through a broker or online resources. Yahoo! Finance and Investinginbonds.com provide excellent and free online tools for the do-it-yourselfer. The major brokerage houses, such as Fidelity Investments, offer the same tools plus services, such as managed portfolios, training and counseling.

The bond market is much bigger than the stock market, so bond searching is facilitated by focusing on specific trading sectors that contain companies of interest. However, most green-energy companies do not trade in the energy sector, as might be expected. For example, Vestas Wind trades in the Electrical Equipment industry of the Industrial sector. First Solar trades in the Semiconductor industry within the Information Technology sector.

Mutual funds contain professionally managed equity portfolios. The investor buys shares in the fund, which in turn is invested in the stock portfolio. Profits and losses are distributed to the fund’s investors. Some mutual funds invest in bonds rather than stocks, or both.

Funds are tailored to meet objectives. For example, Calvert Global Alternative Energy Fund (CGACX) focuses on capital growth. It invests in companies such as Ormat Technologies (ORS), a geothermal company. When you buy into Calvert, you are buying a little bit of Ormat.

The downside of a fund is the management fee, which burdens investor returns. Also, funds are not structured for liquidity or rapid trading, sometimes imposing redemption fees or other loads.

ETFs are similar to funds, except that they trade like a stock. Powershares Global Wind Energy Portfolio (PWND), for example, holds wind stocks in its portfolio, including Vestas.

Only those with a stomach for risk and a thorough market understanding should invest directly in equities.  Productive investing requires time, energy and expertise to find companies that will perform well in today’s market. A novice investor should consult a professional advisor who has green-energy experience.

Generally, there are three factors to consider before buying stock: business fundamentals, technical indicators and news. Business fundamentals include profitability, earnings per share growth, and price-to-earnings ratio, etc. Technical indicators measure the direction and trends of the stock’s price.  When both are positive, the stock is a candidate for buying. But news can trump both of these. Last winter, First Solar’s stock price plunged dramatically following bad news about German incentive programs and the company’s earnings.

A wonderful and free online resource for finding renewable energy funds, ETFs and stocks is Alt Energy Stocks.

Innovative renewable energy companies will continue to find opportunities to prosper. The careful and prudent green-focused investor will share in the profits.

Disclaimer: At the time of writing on May 7 the author had no investment positions on any company discussed in the article nor had he planned any positions for at least 72 hours following. Nothing in the article should be construed as specific investment advice or guidance. Investments should be based on personal goals and needs and where applicable, made with the advice of an investment professional. Past performance of any investment entity is not a guarantee of future performance.