Renewables' Bright Future

Can we get 50% of U.S. energy from renewable sources by 2030? --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

View this email in your browser Can we get 50% of U.S. energy from renewable sources by 2030? A closer look suggests that's a lot more possible than it seems. Plus, 5G swoops to semiconductor stocks' rescue, and bad news batters Boeing yet again. — Nathan Alderman, Stock Up Editor How Much U.S. Electricity Will Come From Renewables in 2030? Right now, the most optimistic projections we have suggest that by 2030, half of all electricity in the U.S. will come from renewable sources. Fool contributor Maxx Chatsko did some digging to see how that rosy scenario might compare to reality — and to his surprise, he found reasons to be even more optimistic about the outlook for the renewable energy sector. Wind and solar already generate 9% of the country's electricity. But they're on pace to more than double their current capacity within five years, and the amount of generation solar and wind add each year is expected to accelerate over time. In addition, wind farms' ability to consistently generate electricity is rising as manufacturers build taller turbines to capture breezes during more of the day. By the most conservative estimates, wind and utility-scale solar alone could generate 30% of U.S. energy by 2030. But they're not the only renewable game in town. When you factor in existing hydropower and new offshore wind and small-scale solar projects, you're already within striking distance of 45% — and again, that's under the most pessimistic future projections. To discover just how quickly we're moving toward a carbon-free (and, for renewable energy investors, potentially profitable!) future, read the rest. Already subscribed to a premium service? Click here to view your subscriptions. Not a member yet? Click here to sign up! Watch: 3 Signs of a Recession in the Coming Year We take a look at a few signs that indicate the U.S. might be headed for a recession in 2019 or 2020 and what that means for the U.S. economy and the stock market. 5G Is Rescuing These Top Semiconductor Stocks From the Trade War The trade war's shadow looms long over the semiconductor sector as a supply glut and concerns about a global slowdown join forces to threaten chipmakers. But one huge trend is helping the sector fight those fears: the upcoming rollout of 5G wireless technology. If anything, souring economic relations between the U.S. and China have left each side hungrier to take the lead in 5G, and the companies making that equipment seem ready to benefit: In the face of mammoth demand for high-powered new chips, Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE: TSM) is plowing lots more money into capital expenditures. The smaller the transistors on those new chips get, the more powerful they become. And since ASML Holding (NASDAQ: ASML) supplies technology that helps manufacture teeny-tiny chips, it's remained buoyant in the face of trade fears. As chips shrink, it gets harder to ensure that they're consistently made to the right quality standards. KLA-Tencor (NASDAQ: KLAC) builds machines to help chipmakers winnow out duds and guard against imperfections, and its stock price seems to echo its recent success. To see why these and other stocks aren't trembling about the trade war, read the rest. Not sure what to ask your smart speaker? Keep up with what's happening in the market by adding our daily flash briefing to your home assistant. Just look for The Motley Fool on your Amazon Alexa or Google Home app, click subscribe, and then you're good to go. Boeing's 737 MAX Woes Escalate After New Revelations Boeing's 737 MAX has been grounded for seven months after fatal software errors caused two of the fuel-efficient, next-generation airplanes to crash. At first, a speedy software fix seemed ready to get the planes back in the air by the end of the year. But recent revelations about what Boeing knew and when might have those hopes stuck on the runway — if not headed back to the hangar. "So I basically lied to the regulators (unknowingly)" is, well, not something you ever want your company's chief technical pilot to say in any venue. That ominous phrase turned up in a 2016 text conversation in which the chief pilot described "egregious" behavior during a 737 MAX simulator test. Boeing found the message last February and promptly turned it over to the Department of Justice for its ongoing criminal probe — but didn't share the message with the Federal Aviation Administration until last week. Not a good look. Worse yet, an internal Boeing survey from 2016 reported that roughly a third of employees felt "potential undue pressure" to help the plane pass federal safety regulations. So far, U.S. and global regulators haven't announced any change to the 737 MAX's timetable for getting back in the air — but these new and unflattering developments could change that. They're not doing Boeing's stock any favors, either: Shares had fallen 10% since the 737 MAX debacle first made it to the headlines. Just two days after the above news broke, Boeing's stock had dropped another 10%. To learn more about how these new developments could hurt the company's future, read the rest. FEATURED PODCAST Four Stocks Enter! One Stock Leaves! We're sending the most recent graduates of The Motley Fool's Investor Development Program into the Thunderdome in a stock-pitching battle. May the best stock win. Subscribe on iTunes Easily track your favorite stocks with our new browser extension for Google Chrome. Add it to Chrome by going here, then open a new tab and use the "Manage Tickers" button to customize the page with your favorite stocks. Quick Reads Commission-fee ceasefire: $0 stock trades seem to signal the end of the broker wars...or do they? Biotech "bust" back from the dead: A potentially promising new Alzheimer's drug might not be as defunct as it seemed. Dire straits for dollar stores? Amazon, the honey badger of the retail world, starts poking its snout into deep discounters' territory. Social Media Post of the Week See all our posts! Join the 1,300,000+ people who follow us! We work fervently, feverishly, and Foolishly to make sure all the facts and figures we publish in our emails are 100% accurate and up to date. Returns as of October 23, 2019. Have a question or topic you'd like to see covered in a future edition of Stock Up? Email us at stockup@fool.com. Our mailing address is: The Motley Fool | 2000 Duke St. | Alexandria, VA 22314 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. 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