Uranium: Source of Alternative Energy

Countries that rely only on oil as a source for their energy, will be in big trouble in few years time. The sooner these countries realise this and take action the better it is. The answer is alternative energy, be it Ethanol, Solar, Wind, Liquid Coal, Hydroelectricity, Geothermal or Ocean thermal energy.

More about Alternative Energy
Alternative energy is still a big question mark in U.S. President Bush supports increase in ethanol usage. Unfortunately corn-based ethanol has its own problems. Corn-based ethanol could lead to shortage of corn food and high corn prices due to high demand. Hydroelectricity contributes a large percentage to the world energy. However environment concerns block new dam construction. Solar cells can presently convert 20% of the sunlight to electrical energy. If built out as solar collectors, 1 % of the land today used for crops and pasture could supply the world's total energy consumption. However solar energy has not gained widespread support for reasons like it cannot be used at night-time or cloud cover. Additionally converting incoming radiations to high grade electricity has not been well defined. Wind power is one of the most cost-competitive alternative today. Wild power can generate 5 times the current global energy consumption. However global climate impacts and global warming could worsen if large scale energy is extracted from wind power. Wind is also not always available when needed. Geothermal power has a very large potential if considering all the heat existing inside Earth, although the heat flow from the interior to the surface is only 1/20,000 as great as the energy received from the Sun or about 2-3 times that from tidal power. (Source: Wikipedia)

Uranium as Alternative Energy
How about Uranium ? Can Uranium be the answer we are looking for ?
Uranium can used be used as a substitute for clean energy initiatives. Uranium is also abundant and the best deposits are unevenly distributed. World mine production is about 50,000 tonnes of uranium oxide concentrate/year. Practically all of it is used for electricity. Uranium does not produce smoke or carbon dioxide. It is reliable and produces only small amount of waste. The main use of uranium is in the civilian sector to fuel nuclear power plant. 1 kg of uranium can produce as much electricity as 1500 tonnes of coal and the cost of both is the same. This is in the form of enriched uranium which has been processed to have higher-than-natural levels of uranium-235 and can be used for a variety of purposes relating to nuclear fission. U.S., Canada, Australia, Russia and China trade alot in uranium due to its obvious advantage.

Why look down under
Australian uranium companies are the most lucrative of all. Listed are few important facts. (Source: UIC Nuclear Issue)

* Uranium is part of Australia's mining heritage.

* Australia's uranium reserves are the world's largest, with 24% of the total.

* Production and exports exceed 11,000 tonnes of uranium oxide/year.

* Australia's uranium is used solely for electricity.

* Australia exported 46,600 tonnes of uranium oxide concentrate with a value of over A$2.1 billion.

Conclusion: Uranium can be answer we are looking for. As discussed, benefits of uranium out-weighs some of its alternatives which could make uranium companies highly profitable.

Recommendation: Uranium stocks won't take off for a couple of years until the reality of depleting oil resources kicks in. Once uranium gains more support from the world as source of alternative energy, Uranium stocks will see amazing growth. The Australian stocks will benefit the most.

Two Aussie companies to keep an eye on are

1. BHP Billiton BHP - Owner of world largest uranium owner with a market capital of $128 billion.

2. Rio Tinto plc RTP - Mining company with market capital of $68 billion.

Also few other interesting companies i recommend with market capital in billions.

1. Cameco Corp CCJ

2. UrAsia Energy Ltd UUU

3. SXR Uranium Onc Inc SXR