Tanya Keller, Negosentro | Going green is no longer considered a lifestyle some choose to adopt, but rather a practical necessity to find better ways of generating, storing and using electrical energy. The marketplace is currently dominated by various fossil fuels, but we’re starting to see an emerging trend of people shifting towards alternative sources of energy. This shift towards environmentally friendly options has given birth to a number of different industries focused on finding viable alternatives to burning fossil fuels and the following five have proven themselves to be the most interesting and investor-friendly industries.
Water
Clean water is the single most important resource we have and we wouldn’t survive without it. Due to the increasing rise of the world’s population, there have been some concerns about running out of clean water. For investors, this means that there are more than enough opportunities to invest in new industries dedicated to collecting, cleaning and distributing clean, drinkable water. But one of the best examples of what we can do with water has to be the world’s largest hydropower station called the Three Gorges Dam. Besides producing electricity, the Three Gorges Dam is also intended to help increase the shipping capacity of the Yangtze River and reduce the risk of potential flood downstream by providing space for flood storage.
Wind
Windmill farms are popping up all over the world, with Australia, Europe, the United States and South Africa investing a significant amount of resources in wind as their supplementary or even preferred energy source for renewable energy. These large-scale investments are not only restricted to the generation and sale of the said renewable energy, but also place a heavy focus on the design and construction of turbines and wind farms. While some countries rely on wind farms to help them take the load off other, not so environmentally friendly types of energy generation, there are those that actually produce more than they actually use, all from harnessing the power of wind.
Waste management
Waste management is more than simply throwing the right type of garbage into the right bin. It’s about finding new and innovative ways to transport, store and reuse specific materials without spending too much additional energy. There are whole industries devoted to finding and selling recycled and repurposed materials, including repurposed aluminum, glass, wood, etc.
Efficiency
Nothing is greener than efficiency. This includes energy-efficient construction and development, appliances, lights and even home retrofits. Most homes we live in were built during the time when people simply didn’t build with energy efficiency in mind, which means that there’s a large number of houses that aren’t insulated properly and simply waste energy left and right. But homeowners aren’t the only ones starting to think green. Businesses and business owners are focusing more and more on the way their offices use energy and are creating new rules and regulations that will make their work more efficient and environmentally friendly.
Solar
With the availability of fossil fuels declining rapidly, the future of using the sun to generate energy is becoming increasingly brighter (pun intended). Solar energy can be used to power appliances and reduce the overall energy bill, or it can be used to power the entire home. Some households actually generate more than they can spend, so they sell the excess energy to the government. Whether it’s supplying solar panels and the equipment that goes with them, such as batteries, heat exchangers, and power converters, helping it get installed or offering maintenance and repair, solar energy offers a lot of options for investors.
These are just some of the examples of rising green industries. Others include battery- and fuel-cells, pollution control, organic growth and even fashion recycling. It’s rather refreshing to see so many individuals and businesses focusing more on efficiency and trying to be more environmentally conscious by using renewable materials and figuring out ways to waste less energy than ever before.
