In the past couple years we've heard quite a bit of talk about "green" initiatives (a.k.a ecology movement). The other day I received a newsletter from the Cabot Wealth Advisory talking about how investors in solar power companies are making triple digit returns. Here are a couple examples given (figures for 2007):

• First Solar (FSLR) gained over 795%
• SunPower Corp (SPWR) gained over 251%
• JA Solar (JASO) gained over 292%.

Is it all hype? Is the industry facing a boom or bust?

Some say that investing in solar companies is still pretty risky and that people who are risk-averse should invest in large cap companies like GE who are exploring alternative energy sources.

I'm one of those people that believes that solar power has a bright future. Granted, right now the costs are high to develop and implement the technology, but in due time companies will figure out ways to produce affordable energy. With billions of dollars being invested in clean energy, it's not a matter of "if", but "when".

Photo Credit: Jim Clark