Going Alternative: Oil Prices Spur Interest in New Energy Sources

The Clinton administration's decision to tap the nation's emergency oil reserve has helped pull oil prices back from a 10-year high of $38 to the low-$30s range. However, it might be too late to curb the push by financial planners and mutual fund managers to seek greener pastures.

High energy costs are likely to be a problem through the winter, according to economists. But the implications for the market extend beyond this winter. Companies have redoubled their efforts to develop alternative sources of energy -- from solar power to cleaner forms of power generation -- and these companies are attracting heightened interest on Wall Street, says Stephen Barnes, a portfolio manager at Barnes Investment Advisory in Phoenix.

This doesn't mean investors should dump their shares of old-fashioned oil companies and flee to the arms of speculative company working on, say, harnessing wind power. Alternative energy is developing slowly, which may mean a long gestation period for companies aiming to turn a profit from these new technologies. ...