Earth, Wind and Fire: The Coming Alternative Energy Boom and What It Means for Smart Land Investors (Hint: Think Money)
April 27, 2009
Today’s issue is probably going to ruffle some feathers, and here’s the reason:
This country has been sitting on its hands for the past decade or so (probably longer) with regards to developing sources of alternative energy.
Instead, we’ve been sucking down oil as fast as it can be produced.
I’m not really a conspiracy theorist, but as we all know, there’s a lot of money in oil. And I’m sure that the folks at the top aren’t really interested in anyone messing with their revenue.
But the winds of change are blowing anyway… literally. They’re blowing from investors in this country, and they’re blowing from investors outside of this country. In places like Canada, China and Spain.
These investors are ready to usher in the NEXT big thing… and that is alternative energy in the form of solar and wind power.
Unfortunately for big oil, the change is coming whether they like it or not.
For the land investor of course, all of this means opportunity. Change ALWAYS means opportunity. All you have to do is keep your eye on all of the bouncing balls and get a smart strategy to transform the opportunity into money.
So let’s jump in…
“Massive Solar Complex
Planned Near Kingman”
That’s the headline that appeared in the Kingman (AZ) Daily Miner on Tuesday.
Here’s a quote:
“Albiasa Corporation, the American subsidiary of the Madrid-based Albiasa Solar renewable energy company, on Monday unveiled its plan to build a $1 billion, 200-megawatt solar power plant near Kingman over the next three years.”
“Once the plant is fully operational, … it should produce at least 665,000 megawatt-hours of electricity annually; enough to power roughly 60,000 homes. The plant will generate the power through a process called concentrating solar power, or CSP.”
Here’s the link to the entire article:
Before we get into what all of this means for the savvy land investor, here’s another one…
“Boulder City OKs Terms of $100
Million Solar Plant Lease”
That’s the headline from an April 15 article in the Las Vegas Daily Sun.
Here’s the gist:
“The city could realize about $100 million in revenue over 40 years under the terms of an agreement for a solar energy plant that would fill the final available parcel in the city’s energy park in the Eldorado Valley.”
Just in case you don’t know, Boulder City is about 90 miles from Kingman AZ and approximately 40 miles from White Hills AZ, which we talked about in a previous Dirt Report issue.
Here’s the link to the full article:
What the Alternative Energy Boom Means
for the Smart Land Investor
So why would a land investor care about solar energy?
Here’s why:
“Invest in the path of growth…” That’s the idea that comes up in pretty much every issue of the Dirt Report, right?
So what kind of growth is stimulated by a new solar field in the middle of the desert of Arizona or Nevada?
Well let’s think through this:
Building a solar field requires workers…
When you hire workers, you create jobs…
But to house those workers, you need to build homes…
To build homes, you need builders…
And what tends to happen to land values when builders start buying land?
And what kind of profits can be made when those builders buy the land from smart investors who already OWN it?
It’s pretty easy to see the cycle here. It’s all a big web… and a pretty amazing chain reaction.
But it all begins with someone deciding to make an investment in SOMETHING to get the ball rolling. And in this case, the SOMETHING is the development of infrastructure to deliver alternative energy.
But the Winds of Change Are
Even Stronger Than That
Now so far, we’ve talked about big developments in alternative energy that are ALREADY happening.
Solar field building projects that are already getting off the ground.
But now let’s talk about something that’ll really knock your socks off.
It’s still in development, but it’s something that very well could revolutionize the way we generate power.
It’s called a MagLev Wind Turbine.
Take a look at this video explaining a bit how it works:
| If you have trouble viewing the video, click here to view it online. |
Up ’till now, wind energy has been criticized for its relatively low output and lack of reliability.
After all, it would take about 1,000 standard wind mills (and 64,000 acres of land) to power about 500,000 homes for a year.
64,000 acres is a LOT of land. About 100 square miles of land FILLED with wind mills.
But the MagLev technology is a completely different story.
ONE MagLev wind turbine can power about 750,000 homes and only takes about 100 acres of land.
Oh yeah, and they last for about 500 years.
You can read all about them here:
PLUS… There’s a LOT of Money Behind
the Coming Alternative Energy Boom
If the articles I’ve highlighted above tell you anything, it’s that there’s a lot of money behind the big push for alternative energy. Actually, “a LOT” is probably a bit of an understatement.
Who’s pouring money into what looks like a coming alternative energy boom?
U.S. investors…
International investors…
And the U.S. Government…
Just this week, President Obama made a stop at a wind plant in Iowa, about 30 miles from Des Moines.
During his speech, he called for a new era of energy exploration in the US…
And he explained that, “the nation that leads the world in creating new sources of clean energy will be the nation that leads the 21st century global economy.”
Those are powerful words of course, but it looks as though he’s gonna actually put his money where his mouth is and help FUND some of this.
And he’s not alone. Heck, I even know of big land buys that are happening for land that is pretty much useless as far as an investment goes…
Except for one thing… it’s where the WIND blows. (More about this in an upcoming issue.)
The change to alternative energy IS coming. And it can mean huge opportunity for savvy land investors.
The question is, “Will you be prepared to profit from the opportunity?”
There’s a lot more coming about this… so stay tuned!
Not Knowing THIS Could Cost Your Retirement Big Dollars
April 14, 2009
Today, we’re going to start focusing on a very, very LARGE opportunity that very few investors know about.
PENSCO Trust, one of the veteran custodian companies in this market, estimates that 85% of financial advisors don’t even know that this opportunity exists. And you’ll discover why in just a few moments.
But if 85% of the professionals in the market do not understand the ins and outs of this, don’t feel bad.
Now before we jump into what the opportunity is, I want to take a moment and focus on the underlying principle that makes this so important.
It’s a powerful principle that I talk about over and over again in the Dirt Report and with my clients.
Success in Land Investing
Is About Control
I’ve said this many many times. Your success as a land investor comes down to how well you are able to CONTROL a set of very important factors.
How well you control when you get into an investment…
How well you control when you get out of an investment…
And how well you control how you fund an investment…
It’s all about control.
Plenty of investors do quite well simply controlling a property long enough for them to profit from it.
So today, we’re going to focus in on an area where most investors don’t even realize they actually DO have control. And we’re going to blow the doors wide open to help you see just what you’re missing in case you’re one of them.
Just a word of warning here:
In the end, everyone is looking out for #1, right? That’s just human nature. Don’t be surprised about it or ignore that fact. Just use it to your advantage.
So let me ask you these questions, “Who would you rather have in control of the investing of your money? Someone who makes a commission when you buy something from them? Or would you choose to put YOURSELF in control of your money?”
Sounds like a no-brainer doesn’t it? Unfortunately, it’s not for a lot of people… simply because they don’t realize they CAN take control.
Again, today’s issue of the Dirt Report is about CONTROL.
About you controlling what happens with your money…
About you controlling when things happen with your money…
About you controlling your future, as much as possible.
And that brings us to the meat of today’s issue. The “opportunity” I talked about earlier.
It’s something called a…
“Self-Directed” IRA
If you already have an IRA, then you know that the usual drill is that you hand your money over to someone else, who then makes choices about how best to invest that money.
They don’t ask your permission…
They don’t ask your opinion…
They just invest your money FOR you.
The only control you have is whether or not to participate.
Sometimes that turns out well. Recently, it’s not been turning out so well.
But what if you could take control of your IRA?
What if YOU could be the one to make the investment decisions?
And what if the possibilities for where to invest your money extended far beyond the normal stocks, bonds and mutual funds?
What if your choices included things like real estate? Land? Businesses?
Well take a quick look at this article from CNN Money:
It’s about people using self-directed IRAs to invest in real estate, businesses, even a cemetery.
Here’s a short quote from another PENSCO document:
“Among the many possibilities for investments using your IRA money are these:
-Start a business…
-Buy foreign real estate…
-Earn high interest rates on notes…
-Buy income producing real estate…
-Private placements…”
Did YOU know this was possible with an IRA?
Now normally I wouldn’t direct you to “old news” like this. After all, this article is from 2007.
But the funny thing is (and something you’ll read in the article) is that this has been possible from DAY 1 when IRAs were first invented back in 1974. This is TRULY old news. And that’s what makes it so sad.
Because for the past 35 years, this has been an option.
What do you think NOT knowing this has cost thousands and thousands of people who’ve been watching their IRAs evaporate?
So that begs the question, “Why don’t most people KNOW about this?”
Why don’t most people know about Self-Directed IRAs?
Why Most People Have
Never Heard of This
Here’s the quick answer:
Banks and brokers aren’t in the business of helping people, they are in the business of helping themselves profit. That’s what a corporation does, by law. It creates profits for the shareholders.
If they have to “help” someone to do it, well, let’s just say they consider that a means to an end.
Banks and brokers make money when you buy and sell stocks.
The self-directed IRA business is small beans for them… and profits are a whole lot lower than in their primary business of lending money and selling investment products.
So if you walk into most banks and ask about a “Self-Directed” IRA, they’ll probably just look at you funny.
They’re not interested. They might even say, “You can’t do that.”
The bottom line is, it’s just not a good deal… for THEM.
Plus… if they let you put your IRA money into a piece of real estate and sit on it for 3-5 years, well you’ll have that much LESS liquid funds to buy their other investment products.
You might think that sounds cynical. So be it. Here at the Dirt Report, we deal in REALITY. We don’t pay attention to the corporate PR machine that would like us to ignore reality and just keep paying the pied piper.
It’s time to get educated and use that information to help you profit.
If You Like This Introduction
to Self-Directed IRAs, Just
Wait ‘Till You See What We Have
Coming Down the Road…
So that’s the purpose of the Dirt Report. To get you the knowledge you need about how to profit.
And to expose you to and educate you about the opportunities that can help you prosper.
We’ve already spent a LOT of time doing our due diligence in this market (the Self-Directed IRA)…
And soon after we started, we quickly realized that a lot of people do not understand the idea of how to take retirement money, roll it over into a “Self-Directed” IRA and make independent investment decisions regarding their own retirement.
So we have a lot more coming about this… including interviews with experts in this field. Considering the state of the economy and the fact that thousands and thousands (if not millions) of people are watching their retirement funds disappear, this is stuff that needs to get out into the public.
These are options that people need to know about. Because people need choices.
Choices to help them take action to preserve what they DO have left.
I’ve even had clients that can’t look at their unopened IRA statements, now six months old, simply because they’re afraid to see how much they’ve lost this time around…
If you know of someone who could benefit from this type of education, then tell them about the Dirt Report now… before the next issue comes out.
