Pacific Gas & Electric
To wit, I've discussed before how the company was seeking to plug the pesky problem of storing excess electricity by demonstrating how a converted Toyota
Since that time, I've discovered no fewer than six separate renewable energy projects in which PG&E is currently engaged. Late last year, the company received approval for a 120-megawatt geothermal facility in Oregon. In January, it began receiving an estimated 38 megawatts of wind power from Buena Vista Energy, and the following month it facilitated a deal for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
PG&E is also pursuing two biomass-to-energy projects in Chowchilla and El Nido, Calif.; installing solar cells to power the San Francisco Giants' baseball stadium; and investigating the idea of using wave power off the coast of northern California to generate electricity.
In total, the utility now supplies 13% of its energy from renewable resources, and it expects that to increase to 20% by 2010. When one considers that an additional 46% of the company's electricity generation comes from nuclear and hydroelectric power sources, this means that well over half of its electricity produces no carbon dioxide. For a utility company, that's darn good.
From my perspective, such numbers, in combination with management's obvious commitment to renewable energy, make PG&E a legitimate cleantech investment.
PG&E carries a sterling five-star rating in Motley Fools CAPS. Of the 50 people who have given it a rating, 49 have rated it as an "outperform" as compared to only one underperform. Among All-Stars, it's batting a perfect 100%.
Fool contributor Jack Uldrich does not own stock in any of the companies mentioned in this article.