When a Texas oil billionaire tells you that wind power is the next growth industry, it may pay to listen. T. Boone Pickens may have made his fortune by harnessing the nation's addiction to Texas tea, but he recently announced plans to shift his focus to alternative energy, including wind and solar sources.
Fellow Fool Toby Shute keeps us up to speed on the solar space with his weekly solar updates on industry titans such as First Solar
Danish-based Vestas Wind Systems is the preeminent player in offering "wind power solutions" to help firms build wind farms, obtain and maintain wind turbines, and take care of all the related service commitments. Unfortunately, the shares don’t trade on a U.S. exchange, though other oil giants such as Chevron and BP
General Electric
Again, besides Vestas, there are few opportunities for pure exposure to the best wind-power players the market has to offer. But given the growth prospects and what they could mean for the parent firms and your portfolio, I think T. Boone may have found the next big energy play.