Editor’s Note: In keeping with its policy ofbeing solely a news source, this EnergyTechStocks.com article ispresented for information purposes only.

Having recently discussed investment opportunities among Japanese alternative energy firms (See To Make $$ in Alternative Energy, US Investors Might Want to Build Their Own Japanese Stock Portfolio),as well as the potential to make money by investing in firms that willneed to connect renewable energy sources to the grid (See Alternative Energy Has A ‘Missing Link’ – Investors Who Find It Stand to Make $$),here’s an article about three more speculative energy plays that feellike they might just take off. (Then again, they might not.)

The first is Acorn Energy Inc. (Symbol: AFCN). As aholding company, Acorn has always been a tougher read for investorsthan, say, a solar or wind development firm. In addition, probably itskey unit, CoaLogix, is involved with coal, which is an automaticturnoff for some green investors. But CoaLogix is in the business ofcost-effectively helping coal-plant owners reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx)emissions. Last week Acorn shares got a bump after CoaLogix announcedan expansion of manufacturing facilities. With the Obama administrationabout to put coal in its crosshairs as part of the debate overcap-and-trade, there’s reason to think Acorn’s upward momentum couldlast a while longer.

Another outfit whose stock has been rising lately but may not yet be near the top is British-based BGlobal plc(Symbol BGBL.L). According to a September 4 Reuters article out ofLondon, “Companies that help people easily improve the energyefficiency of homes and offices are also gaining steam, such as BGBL, aprovider of household smart meters giving data on energy use that hasseen its shares double in value since the start of the year.” While itcan be argued that BGlobal shares have already taken off, it can alsobe argued that they’ve got plenty of room to run, given the Britishgovernment’s goal to get a smart meter into every home over the nextdecade or so. Moreover, as a new report by McKinsey & Co. recentlyconcluded, efficiency has the potential to save more than $1 trillionin energy costs by 2020 on an investment of approximately $150 billion.While McKinsey was only talking the U.S., smart meter-based efficiencyclearly has the potential to be a “killer app” in Britain, too.

The last company is pink-sheeter W2 Energy Inc.(Symbol WTWO). Headquartered in Toronto, W2 Energy is by far the mostspeculative of the three companies mentioned in this article. Theself-described developer of green energy said in a recent press releasethat its “facilities will turn algae into syngas and then make dieselfrom the syngas without having to make biodiesel. The elimination ofthe step which produces biodiesel substantially reduces the end cost ofthe diesel.” The company said in the same release that it would get aroyalty from each barrel of diesel produced with its process, andindicated that “several” parties are interested in discussing possiblecommitments.

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