Every big new industry goes through phases.
When an industry is budding, when its future as an industry is uncertain, scams are a big part of the equation. Penny stocks, backed by pump-and-dump artists, rope in dreamers on one side promising capital, and investors on the other side who want quick returns. They hype the ideas and then dump their shares, staying one step ahead of the law because it doesn't seem to operate in Vancouver, where most of these folks live. (Here's an article claiming up to 60% of their listed companies are real.)
Not all penny stocks are dross. Some turn into gold. Usually it's after several bankruptcies and reorganizations. Someone with brains picks up the company, or the pieces of it with value, and makes something of it. Usually privately.
This stage of the game is always dominated by venture capitalists, and for good reason. They can take the whole deal, they provide advice and management stability. They can attract more capital as it's needed, make sure everything is on the up-and-up.
Point is, though, we don't need to play that game any more with renewable energy. We've reached the “big boy” stage. That's where the value can be seen down the road, the point at which large companies start to play. Companies like GE, and Berkshire-Hathaway. This isn't the same as saying solar energy is now the cheap energy, but crossover is over the horizon, and smart money wants to be there.
This is also a good entry point for venture capital. There are a growing number of green funds looking at good deals. Some deals are getting their second or third injections of funding. Others are still fishing for their first.
Yet this is also the stage of the game when the gullible can be trapped by the greedy.
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