Like every year, I went out for a couple of beers this St. Patrick's Day.

I'm normally a Guinness drinker, but this March 17, I opted for a brew that's a little less like crude oil or coffee, opting for an Irish red. As I enjoyed my pints, I took in the bar stool news of the day.

"Man, did you hear about that big bank going down?"

"Yep, what a mess!" his buddy replied, referring to the Bear Stearns nosedive, "but I'll be damned if gas prices aren't going up!"

My fellow Saint Pat's patrons captured today's economy in a nutshell. There are two sure paths to profit in this market:

• International growth as the American financial system tries to steady itself, and

• The unstoppable fuel rush that's stimulating every energy sector in this era of $100+ oil.

Let's look at a burgeoning market that lets us play both of these monster trends at once, with international cleantech investments.

All over the globe countries and companies are racing to reduce their emissions. So much so that carbon and other emissions now come with a price. In lieu of paying hefty fines or splurging for carbon credits, many companies are simply finding it more feasible to pony up the money and clean up their operations. And those massive clean-up efforts have stimulated billions--if not trillions--of cleantech spending. We've discovered one small company that is using the clean air to cash out.

Learn more.

Renewable Energy Attractiveness Index

Once a quarter, accounting firm Ernst & Young's U.K.-based Renewable Energy Group releases its Renewable Energy Attractiveness Indexes... one for the United States and one for the entire world.

These rankings give us a quantitative glance at just how enticing it is for alternative energy companies to do business in markets as diverse as California and Turkey, and the outlook should give energy investors plenty of confidence moving forward.

First off, the picture in the U.S. is not bleak when it comes to renewables. On the international scale, the U.S. is listed as the most attractive market for renewable energy, but Washington lost us a few points when renewable energy targets were removed from the late-2007 Energy Independence & Security Act (the "Energy Bill").

It may surprise you to know that in second place you won't find Japan, the world's number-two economy. Nor is any of the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) the runner-up in E&Y's All Renewables Index.

It's the other member of the post-WW2 world's most ironic financial triumvirate: Germany.

As "by far the largest market for solar power," in Ernst & Young's words, Germany is credited with not only setting its total power generation targets above the European Union goal of 20% by 2020 (Germany has upped the ante to 27% by 2020 and 45% by 2030), but also crafting the country's Renewable Energies Heating Law, which mandates that all new buildings after January 1, 2009, must be built with renewable energy heating systems.

That change is expected to save Germany $73.9 billion in heating costs by 2020, according to Ernst & Young, and I guarantee you that well-placed companies are in for billions in contracts along the way.

Get Ready for the Cleantech Wave

Here in the States, there's a happy flipside to high gas prices, messy political situations in most of the oil-producing world, and a post-industrial "knowledge-based" economy centered on Silicon Valley and Wall Street. You see, clean energy technologies are drawing expert engineers and seasoned venture capitalists in droves.

The National Venture Capital Association and Thomson Financial say that in just the first three quarters of 2007, U.S. venture capital flowing into cleantech and clean energy start-ups increased to $2.6 billion, up from $1.8 billion in all of 2006.

And from year-end '06 through today, we've seen a barrel of oil skyrocket from $58 to $109--an 88% jump. With each $10 plateau, new energy options become viable.

Even Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said in early March that alternative fuels will keep oil at a minimum of $60 to $70. "From now there's a line below which prices won't fall," he said, confirming the bull market for cleantech as he spoke for fossil fuel's heartland.

Silicon Valley's biggest names recognize the renewable energy reality, too. Last week, Silicon Valley lobbying group TechNet put its yearly suggestions to Congress, with members like Cisco and Intel CEOs as well as financial heavy-hitters from JP Morgan listing clean energy technology as a top concern.

In its "2008 Innovation Policy Agenda," TechNet asks Congress for a major national push with a Green Technologies Initiative. As the group's position paper requests, Congress should:

Promote and highlight new technologies and innovation as a critical part of the solution to national security, economic competitiveness and global energy and environmental challenges and encourage a national commitment for investment in and adoption of innovative green technologies. In addition, encourage public policies, best practices and initiatives to spur the development and adoption of new technologies to enhance energy efficiency, encourage use of renewable energy and protect the environment.

What they leave out is the multi-billion dollar bull market in renewable energy technology that this will create, giving investors an angle not only on new energy but also the tech sector, with hearty international exposure to boot.

Energy and Capital editors Jeff Siegel, Nick Hodge, and I are all working on a new service, Green Chip International, specifically to capitalize on this tidal wave of opportunity.

Stay tuned,

Sam Hopkins