Obama’s Energy Watch: Investors Pick Up Steam

Investment participation in the US alternative sector increased January 5 as renewable stocks went up according to the New York Stock Exchange after president-elect Barack Obama announced new clean energy proposals accompanied by a rise in oil prices.

Obama announced that the government would double renewable energy production and renovate public buildings to make them more energy efficient.

"A lot of us in the industry have been expecting big things out of this administration for a while so it’s not necessarily what he said, although there was perhaps a bit of affirmation," Ethan Zindler, who heads the North American research arm of New Energy Finance, said to Forbes.

In addition, crude oil prices climbed at least 20% last week, which has had an impact on the price ethanol producers can fetch for their products, he said.

Alternative Energy Africa says: If investors spend more in the US, it could trickle into the African renewable sector at some point. Competition will force others to look outside the box and Africa could be the gateway.