It was going so great for a while. Investors were eagerly pouring cash into renewable energy stocks as solar and wind energy seemed the perfect answer to the looming energy crisis. The more the news became grim and gas prices went up, the more investors fled to companies like First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR), driving the stock to over $300 a share in the spring and summer of 2008. Today, the stock closed at $115.75 and has hovered in the low 100s for past few weeks.

This climate has changed, all right: it's changed to "fear." No longer are investors content to contribute to long research & development cycles for unproven business models; nor are they satisfied that credit will be available to finance the major capital expenses which accompany wind and solar energy systems. The world may be sinking ever faster into an energy crisis, but it's the financial one that matters far more to opportunistic investors -- and with a recent drop in demand, industry watchers are concerned prices may not hold up to mid-2008 expectations. According to green fund manager Chris Walsh, quoted in a Reuters article, "There are too many players out there, and there are too many smaller players."

In my opinion, while the best-performing alternative energy stocks were certainly pricey in early summer, the downturn they've taken is shortsighted. The recent plunge in oil prices (and let's remember it's a plunge only compared to the newly-set benchmark of 2008) won't last for more than a few years, at most, if worldwide oil production models are correct; and then alternative energy sources will gain renewed interest from investors; making it a likely long-term bet.

Dell, Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) has announced that its entire corporate headquarters is now running on "green energy," as the computer maker continues to become one of the most ecologically-conscious companies on the planet. It has competition in the retail sector, though, from Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) and internet search king Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG).

All 2.1 million square feet of Dell's Round Rock, Texas headquarters facility is now powered by renewable energy sources -- no fossil fuel burning is present. To get there, Dell has about 40% of its headquarters power needs supplied by a gas-to-energy plan from leading waste disposal company Waste Management, located in nearby Austin. The other 60% of its power needs comes from wind energy supplied by TXU Energy.

Paul Bell, President of Dell Americas, said "Powering an entire campus with green power, in partnership with these two leading companies, is an important step in becoming the greenest technology company on the planet and the right thing to do for our shared earth." He's right, and Dell is expected to save about $2 million per year on energy costs alone with the green conversion of its Texas-based facilities -- along with cutting carbon dioxide emissions at the same time. That's what being green is all about.

In another sign that Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) wants to be in businesses well beyond its key search operations, the company has announced another initiative. It is not a phone, or even bidding on wireless spectrum

Google is going into the renewable energy business. The company announced "a new strategic initiative to develop electricity from renewable energy sources that will be cheaper than electricity produced from coal."

Weird? Or, cool? According to Google, in 2008 Google expects to spend tens of millions on research and development and related investments in renewable energy. As part of its capital planning process, the company also anticipates investing hundreds of millions of dollars in breakthrough renewable energy projects that generate positive returns.

Google does use a lot of electricity to run its server farms, but enough to justify the huge investment in technology that may not work? It's probably a bad idea.

Part of the concern about the current Google share price is that, as the company evolves beyond its core skills, returns to shareholders could drop. Renewable energy falls into that category.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

It doesn't take a genius to realize that the time may well be here to start investing in alternative energy sources. Solar energy, the cleanest and most renewable source of electrical power, has long been thought of as a bit of a pipe dream -- good in principle but not as easy to put into practice. But SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWR), the Silicon Valley-based manufacturer of solar electrical systems for homes and businesses, shows us there might be something new under the sun.

SunPower's 15 years of research and development have put it at the forefront of its field in both form and function: Its innovative technologies generate up to 50% more power than conventional solar energy systems, and its sleek black panels look so good they now grace the roof of the new Shiseido factory in New Jersey. With an exceptional product and lower overhead than its competitors due to its outsourced production facilities in Southeast Asia, SunPower looks to be able to shine brightly among its bigger competitors like Sharp or Nanosolar.

Clearly, SunPower is doing something right. Its recently-announced third quarter earnings show that revenue for the company is up 34% this quarter -- and over 250% from last year. And, if the company's estimates are to be believed, next year looks to be even brighter, with new product lines and new facility contracts on the horizon.

In the past, when I have written about oil prices, at least once a week I get a comment that we should start to put heavier taxes on oil companies... well, those of you that are of that belief will be delighted to hear that over the weekend Congress decided to do just that!

On Saturday the House of Representatives approved an additional $16 billion in taxes to be imposed on big oil, while at the same time giving billions of dollars in breaks to companies engaged in renewable energy and conservation efforts. The House hopes that passing this legislation will show that it is "turning to the future", but not everyone is pleased to see this pass.

Many Republicans (not surprisingly) were opposed to the passing of these new taxes. They claim that the advocates for the new taxes are not taking into consideration America's need to increase its output of domestic oil, natural gas and coal.

In an attempt to get more interest in the use of renewable energy, the House also passed a bill that will require any investor-owned electric utilities company to generate 15 percent of its electricity from renewable energy. Not all electric companies were in favor of this action, stating that it would result in increased prices for consumers that live in areas that do not have abundant wind energy (which is currently the preferred method for renewable energy). Opponents to this argue insist that this will not be the case, and instead we will see an increase in investments in these renewable energy supplies.

Massachusetts energy company NSTAR (NYSE: NST) recently reported solid earnings for 1Q 2007. NSTAR has received widespread recognition for its innovative programs to help customers become aware of and reduce their energy usage through Power Cost Monitor, while at the same time reducing its own residential users' billing rates by 8% this summer.

The stock bears investigation for inclusion in a balanced portfolio. Possessing solid earnings, high customer satisfaction, and environmentally aware policies, NSTAR pays a dividend of $.325 per common share, and the company has a long, long history of paying out dividends. NSTAR has a P/E multiple slightly below industry average, and EPS slightly above industry average. The stock price has quite literally not budged since 1 January 2007, opening the year trading at $34.95, and closing the end of May at $34.85. NSTAR has annual revenues of $3.5 billion and serves 1.4 million customers in Massachusetts.

For 1Q 2007, NSTAR reported earnings of $47.8 million or EPS of $.45, up 10% from 1Q 2006. Electric sales were up 2% by volume while gas sales were up 14% by volume. NSTAR recently signed a 7-year rate agreement that will give it a large measure of earnings stability. Recently, NSTAR announced a partnership with Evergreen Solar, Inc. to provide solar generated energy as an affordable option for customers. NSTAR expects this small portion of its power generation to grow rapidly, further reducing generation costs, thus increasing the desirability of renewable energy choices for customers. NSTAR reported March 2006- 2007 EPS to be $1.96, up 8% from the previous reporting period.

GE will fund a wind farming project in Hawaii under its unit GE Energy Financial Services. GE maintains that renewable energy is an essential component of the "world energy mix." I stumbled across GE's in-house Global Research blog. According to a post written early this year, the company claimed that since obtaining "Enron's wind turbine assets in 2002, GE has presided over significant growth in this business." Around the same time, the independently-run EnergyBlog noted that "wind energy costs drop below conventional sources in some markets."

Ge will supply 14 of its 1.5-MW wind turbines which will be place at the south tip of the big island. Project managers estimate the farm will produce energy equivalent to power 10,000 homes.

It looks like investor demand for the VeraSun Energy IPO is surging. Last Friday, the company juiced-up the terms on the deal for the second time. Now, the company intends to issue 18.2 million shares (up from 17.25 million shares) at a price range of $21-$22 (up from $18-$20).

The deal shows that Wall Street considers renewable energy to be, well, mainstream.  More importantly, it's a way to make a lot of money.

You see, VeraSun is the #2 ethanol producer in the US (the #1 is Archer Daniels Midland). Ethanol increases octane, as well as lowers pollution levels. Interestingly enough, Congress passed a bill that is now requiring renewable fuels like ethanol.

GE closed today at $34.22, down 44 cents. Again, many suspect this is thanks to interest rate worries. Meanwhile GE's Ecomagination reeled in a positive result for the company: GE announced today several wind turbine sales to LA and Hawaii.

GE Energy sold 80 turbines to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and in the right, gusty conditions, they're all capable of pumping out 1.5 megawatts of power each They'll be installed near Mojave, 110 miles north of LA. The Hawaii deal is not as big, with only 14 of these wind turbines sold, but that still makes almost 100 wind turbines added to the board for GE's Energy division. Not a bad day for renewable energy.

Investors clearly liked what they heard from General Electric executives today. The company held a series of investor presentations in New York City that included presentations by the head of GE's infrastructure division, who forecast that sales in China (already $5 billion), would at least double by 2008. GE execs said the company planned to increase spending on research and development and explained how GE benefits from higher energy prices (it gets companies to spend more on energy-conserving industrial equipment).

GE also announced today a new contract with the University of California to study how more sources of renewable energy (like wind power) affect the state's power grid.

 The stock closed at $34.80, an increase of 40 cents, or 1.15%. For GE, that's a darn good day.