An ETF to Plug Into Alternative Energy

Every time CNBC does a segment on how expensive oil, gasoline and natural gas are, my wife asks why we don't have more solar energy. All of the politics notwithstanding, that's the right question.

Alternative energy seems like it has been the next big thing for years. Perhaps now, with the cost of energy so much higher, more car companies making hybrid vehicles and a greater need for alternative power sources such as wind, this could be a time when money could be made by investing in alternative energy.

PowerShares has a year-old alternative energy ETF, the PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy Portfolio(PBW Quote). The fund has 41 stocks in it, most of which you probably haven't heard of, but as is the case with most PowerShares funds, no one stock has too large a weighting. Its largest holding, at 4.1% of assets, is the carbon-fiber maker Zoltek (ZOLT Quote). ...