There are a whole lot of things to like right now about Trina Solar Limited (NYSE: TSL), the Chinese manufacturer of solar modules. The stock opened the year at $18.86 and closed Wednesday, August 8, at $62.08. Not a bad run up. Yes, the company is basically a start up, being in production only since 2004, and investors must be able to tolerate a high level of risk with patience. But the company is expanding on a variety of fronts while still maintaining a healthy enough balance sheet. Trina Solar 1Q 2007 earnings release back in May indicated a very positive investment scenario (the 2Q release is scheduled for August 23).

Despite the fact that the 1Q figures pertained to the winter quarter, generally a slow time for solar technology companies, Trina Solar posted a 10% increase in net revenues, to $42.5 million, from the previous quarter, but a staggering 194% (not a typo) increase from 1Q 2006. Gross profits from the quarter increased 5.3% to $9.5 million, and net income increased 7.3% to $4.7 million. Bear in mind Trina Solar posted these figures despite higher prices for raw materials and a decline in per unit price. Demand for solar technology continues unabated. Trina Solar shipped 17% more units by volume in 1Q 2007 than in 4Q 2006. That increase in volume meant Trina Solar produced and shipped 300% more solar watts in 1Q 2007 than 1Q 2006, and has plans to accelerate increases in both unit and watt volume.

Trina Solar is still in a rapid expansion phase, as is only to be expected from a company dealing in newer forms of technology. The company recently completed testing on its new line of increasing efficient solar modules and plans to market these modules to new and existing customers in Germany, Spain and Italy. At full manufacturing capacity, Trina Solar expects to produce 50 million solar watts with this product line. CEO Jifan Gao forecasts that Trina Solar will ship 87-80 million watts worth of solar modules in FY 2008, generating net revenues in the $270-$300 million range. Perhaps the wider investment community will hear of Trina Solar during the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Socially conscious investors may want to grab a copy of this week's (April 2, 2007) edition of FORTUNE magazine, which is all about the greening of corporate America. No longer can companies merely not pollute: The double bottom line of both economic profitability and social responsibility demands that companies re-engineer themselves and their products to be as environmentally friendly as possible.

Companies that are ahead of the game will prosper. Companies that lag behind in environmentalism will be punished by investors as well as the media. The article "Green is Good" summarizes the green activities of 10 well known companies that stand to reap rewards for their environmentally sensitive manufacturing and operational practices. Companies taking the lead towards a low-carbon economy are:

A couple weeks ago I wrote an article about B5 blend biodiesel now being produced by Aquaflow Bionomic Corporation Ltd. in New Zealand. At that time I promised to provide their prospectus when it became available. I've received an email from them indicating that the prospectus is now available. If you would like to view their prospectus, either as a PDF file or as hard copy, contact Aquaflow by using this link: Aquaflow Bionomic Corp.

This is not intended as an endorsement of Aquaflow or B5 biodiesel. I'm simply providing this information as a direction for readers to investigate if they are believers in the advancement of alternate fuels. For right now, information from Aquaflow is actually rather scant, but they are working directly with the government of New Zealand, and you may wish to contact either or both of them. This situation involves overseas investment in brand new technology -- please do be careful.

B5 biodiesel consists of 5% fuel processed from algae that flourishes in sewage settling ponds, blended with 95% currently available fuels. This could translate as an unending fuel source that will be perpetually obtainable. It's a solid investment idea as long as people keep eating and ... well, you know. Possible downsides to putting dollars into backing this fuel include the newness of the technology use and its limited scale. This is an investment idea that should be researched extensively before jumping into. Technology in its infancy can be a tough game to play, but the rewards can be phenomenal.

GE is pushing forward to make alliances with developing countries. As predicted by its CEO, China and India would be two main areas GE would be seeking to make major inroads. It isn't a surprise that GE has struck a deal with China to invest $50 million in a partnership agreement with the Chinese government.

What is really interesting is that GE's partnership is for developing green technologies, another byproduct of the Ecomagination process. The money being used is for energy effeciency and water filtration technologies. GE makes $5 billion in revenues from China, they're hoping that will double by 2010 ...

Today GE released its report on how the Ecomagination initiative is doing for GE. Now that we're in the middle of higher gas prices, and ecological concerns out in the public, Ecomagination seems a preternatural move on the part of GE. Now the pitch that green technology is not just a conscientious move, but a simple money saving move for corporations is not quite as 'out there' as it was when GE first rolled this out. It becomes increasingly obvious this is not publicity stunt to clean up GE's image, but a clear indication of GE getting ahead of the game.

GE's Ecomagination products have increased revenues to $10.1 billion, up from $6.2 billion the year before. Orders for Ecomagination products have doubled.