Today we look at the idea of harnessing the sun’s power to generate electricity. It seems like a no-brainer, but some of the best minds in the world have burnt through billions of dollars trying to get the technology right — without a smashing success that heralds the arrival of the solar age. The watchword for this technology is still “someday.” So solar has its share of skeptics. 

That’s healthy. Investors should be perpetual skeptics, questioning everything, all the time, taking everything with a grain of salt and never investing in anything they don’t completely understand. I’m always amazed at people who tell me they’ve bought stock in Company X or Y and then admit to knowing nothing about what the company does.

Solar skepticism is also logical, at least to a point. I will be the first to concede that by any number of measures, solar has failed to take off as a meaningful source of the world’s power portfolio. Its economics have sometimes proven difficult at best. 

But today, solar power represents the fastest-growing portion of the energy industry, in the United States and around the world. So I’m wondering, is this a good time to make solar part of your aggressive growth portfolio?

The Best Way To Juice Your Portfolio In Any Market
In my role as Chief Investment Strategist of Game-Changing Stocks, I research companies that I think are going to revolutionize their industries, and invest in them before the stock takes off. And that’s what I bring to every issue of my Game-Changing Stocks newsletter.

So while other investors fret about the fate of blue-chips, I’m digging deep into the sectors and companies that will be changing the world — and making early investors very wealthy.
Hence, my research into the solar industry…

While many Americans have a sense that solar power use is growing around the world, it’s fair to say most of us underestimate the solar industry’s growth potential in the coming years. Solar power remains the smallest component of U.S. power generation, accounting for less than 1% of the nation’s electricity production capacity.

That minuscule market share is due to three factors. The first two are obvious: time and money.

You see, although man has tapped the power of sunlight to accomplish various tasks since the dawn of time, the idea that nations could harness the sun to create meaningful amounts of electric power had its genesis only 40 years ago. It wasn’t until the 1973-74 oil embargo created as strong incentive to invest in alternative energy sources that solar power really took off. Other sources of electricity generation — coal, natural gas, oil, hydro, even wind — have been in development for much longer.

The second reason for solar’s relatively small adoption so far has been financial. Construction costs for large-scale solar plants run about three times that of a plant fueled by burning fossil fuels. Operating costs are roughly equal once the plant is built, but solar plants have lower capacity and thus bring in less revenue. After all, the energy source itself — the sun — comes free of charge, it is only available during daylight hours and in good weather. 

That brings me to the third reason solar hasn’t yet made its mark on the power grid: no one knew how best to store the energy collected so households can use it when the sun’s not shining. But huge strides have been made in this area. In fact, a group of scientists in Fremont, California recently announced an amazing new product aimed at making solar a part of everyday life.

I think the coming years will show that now is the time to be thinking about solar energy — not only as a natural resource, but also as an investment. The United States, China, India and Europe finally seem to be taking serious steps to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that are the main cause of climate change. The goals they’re setting for carbon emission reduction are likely to translate into government policies that effectively raise costs for fossil fuel plants and lower costs for solar. Long story short, coal-fired power plants — the biggest emitters of carbon — face increasing regulation of their emissions; the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan is expected to accelerate the shift away from coal over the next decade. Natural gas, while much cleaner than coal, also emits greenhouse gases. 

Among “cleaner” fuels, solar has a big advantage because there are nearly unlimited locations where solar farms can be built (not to mention on individual roofs of buildings). 

State-based initiatives to support green power will further assist solar. Ohio has mandated 12.5% of its power come from renewables. Arizona has decreed 4.5% of its power come from solar; New Mexico 4%, and California has several ambitious proposals that could add up to the Golden State producing up to one-third of its electricity from renewable sources. 

That’s here at home. In Europe, solar power has long been embraced. Spain is home to most of the world’s largest solar arrays, with Germany a distant second. India is seeking to tap the sun’s power, and some have suggested building a massive solar farm in Northern Africa, with enough capacity to provide much of Europe with power from the “Saudi Arabia” of sun. The accounting firm Ernst & Young has said China — not the United States — was now the most attractive country for renewable-energy investment. 

So it should be no surprise that I’ve been scanning the solar space for the best investment for my premium advisory, Game-Changing Stocks.  

I’ve found some amazing opportunities — but they’re not in solar (not directly, anyway.) They’re in the space I mentioned above: energy storage.

I’m excited about the gains I expect to seen in these stocks, but I’m not quite ready to give out the names. 

I’m in the process of putting the finishing touches on my newest research report, The Complete Energy Storage Blueprint, where I’ll be revealing the names and tickers of my 3 “Top Buys” in this space. They’re perfectly positioned to deliver 1,000%… 5,000%… even 10,000% as the energy storage revolution unfolds. And I want you to have access to the report as soon as it is available. 

If you’re interested in being among the very first to hear about this groundbreaking technology — and the investments that could net you huge gains — click here to be notified as soon as it goes live.