I don't know why this hasn't got more press. Theolia, France's leading wind company, is sponsoring quite the strangest looking alternative energy powered vehicle in years, to cross the Atlantic, albeit the sunniest route, from Senegal to Martinique. Windream One has to be seen to be believed;

In fact, there's even a short movie of it here.

There are certain characteristics that make this solar-powered blimp highly unique;

i) A tri-lobe delta shape - meaning it can carry a propulsion engine at the tail, as well as the sides
ii) A keel that can be lowered to the sea, called a "chien de mer", to steer the dirigible when the wind is blowing in a favourable direction
iii) A paltry 2 kilowatt engine that will carry two people, food and supplies for 8-10 days

It's the second point, that I find particularly unusual, just look at it . . .

You almost wonder if the wind-powered component was insisted upon by Theolia !

The solar electric cruising mode will give a speed of 20 km per hour and when "sailing", a very respectable 20 knots. This will not be a very comfortable journey - there really isn't much room - and I can't see that there will be much to do either. My guess is that they'll be using that GPS phone an awful lot to stave off the boredom !

Canada is a nation blessed with no end of natural resources - both hydrocarbon and renewable. A brief look at the Toronto Stock Exchange has always shown a multitude of mining companies and increasingly, today, alternative energy companies.

But this article "Rough summer for alternative energy stocks" reminds us that not even the best of alternative energy companies are immune to the current market turmoil. Xantrex, is one of Canada's top alt e stocks and they too are struggling, at least on a stock price basis.

I'm not convinced that the correction that is going on worldwide will last much more than a few months. And the drivers for alternative energy; rising global energy demand, environmental concerns, high hydrocarbon prices and volatility and energy security, are not going away any time soon. Some would argue that they may even have only just got started . . .

Are the days of the mighty greenback dominating the investment horizon coming to a close?

It's inevitable that the world's fast growing Sovereign Wealth Funds, usually funded by petrodollars or manufacturing export dollar earnings, will have to diversify their currency exposure out of dollars.

Arguably, that's partly why globally there is a bit of sustained dollar sell-off going on - the world has been overweight dollars - faute de mieux - for a long time. Yet more worryingly, China is saying not too subtly that it may start to unload it's vast holding off US Treasuries, massively increasing the cost of American debt, which will quickly make the current sub-prime debt mini-crisis look like a Soccer Mom's tea-party.

But why am I posting about this?

The currency exposure of diversified alternative energy investments will start to loom larger and larger in the investor's mind. If you believe, as I do, that alternative energy is an emerging global asset class, then one has to think hard about future currency performance. And a great many of the stocks listed on this site are not quoted in America and are not priced in dollars. So hedging the currency risk with a more diversified portfolio is for this sector, very much an option.