Want to Avoid Oil's Gloom? Turn to the Sun, Says Outsider Nick Hodge

The Energy Report: You call yourself an "outsider," and have founded an investment club of that name. In what sense are you an outsider?

Nick Hodge: Being an outsider stems from my upbringing. Both my parents were middle to lower middle class, and I never had anything given to me. I've always had to work for what I have, starting with a lawn-service business when I was 12 and working my way through college as a butcher. I look at the "mainstream" with a skeptical eye. I'm a contrarian. I'm not on the inside of big business, big banking and politics, and don't want to be.

The Outsider Club has been around for about a year now. I founded it after writing for several newsletters over the past decade about energy and speculative investments.

TER: What does being an outsider mean with regard to your views on energy?

NH: I'll give two examples. First is my belief in the peak oil theory. Second is my early adoption of a belief in renewable technologies, such as solar and smart-grid technologies.

TER: It would be safe to say you're not an admirer of our financial elite? Continue reading "Want to Avoid Oil's Gloom? Turn to the Sun, Says Outsider Nick Hodge"

Fracking, Uranium and Solar, Oh My!

Oil Gas: Enhanced Recovery

Nothing catches the market's attention like cushy profit margins. Technologies that enable oil producers to drill more for less money were a notable theme for the experts featured in The Energy Report in 2013.

As Jim Letourneau commented, "Reducing drilling time by 2040% is an easy sell, and the enhanced oil recovery business has a huge market in the field." Continue reading "Fracking, Uranium and Solar, Oh My!"