Editor’s note: This article was first published in June 2010, when Spain subsidized solar plants. Its forecast that new renewable energy companies would gain stock market value within 4-8 years has expired, and Spanish subsidies for solar plants were cut back after 2010.
Within the solar energy business, the most profitable investment we can make is to invest in solar farms, although it is also more expensive than the option we looked at before: selling energy produced by fixed solar panels.
We’ll need a piece of land (it doesn’t matter if it’s rural land), and the bigger the better, since we’ll be able to add more solar panels to convert solar energy into electricity.
We can make money in the following ways.
Leasing or selling land for this activity
If you have land with good orientation, where the sun can shine in for as many hours as possible, you can lease it or sell it to people or companies who decide to install a solar panel structure. You can also partner with those people and take a percentage of the profits the panels will generate, or decide to do it all yourself (remember that you can apply for grants and subsidies from government bodies).
Joining a shared plot divided into lots
Buying shares in a photovoltaic solar power plant has the advantage of sharing fixed costs such as security and maintenance. It consists of acquiring a piece of land within a larger site where this activity is already under way. It’s like getting a permanent stall in a market.
Investing
Among the safe investments we’ve discussed in other articles, I think we could add companies dedicated to renewable energy. These companies are just starting out right now, and things would have to go very badly for them not to succeed and see their stock market value rise within 4-8 years.
Investing in shares of these companies can bring you far from negligible long-term profits, although remember that you’re always taking risks. Look for a broker who can advise you on how viable this investment is.
Further reading
- A spa, a highly profitable business
- Businesses that provide services to companies
- Why a new business fails
- 5 ways to grow a business
- The mindset of an entrepreneur
Featured image: Blog Energía Sostenible, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Flickr.
