My Foolish colleague Rich Smith has gazed upon Google's
There's certainly merit to the argument that companies are best off sticking to their knitting. But if that were always the case, textile company Berkshire Hathaway
Business success, to a large extent, comes down to smart capital allocation. And given the profit potential of renewable energy, I don't blame Google for positioning itself for a piece of the post-petroleum pie. They're far from the first non-energy company to pony up. Just look at Cypress Semiconductor's
Everybody's angling for the cleantech edge. A recent report noted that venture capital investments in this field set a new record of $2.6 billion through the first nine months of 2007. Google is really competing with Khosla Ventures and Kleiner Perkins, not ExxonMobil
Finally, I have to take issue with Rich's characterization of energy companies as slow-growing, low P/E stocks. It's hard to find higher-octane companies than the likes of SunPower, with its P/E ratio north of 600, or flourishing First Solar
To put more wattage in your cottage: