On Wednesday, the House approved $18 billion in new taxes on Big Oil. The plan is to take that money and put it towards tax breaks for wind, solar and other renewable energy sources...over a ten-year period.

Now as much as I support the full integration of renewable energy, I'm also the last person who would advocate penalizing any company for making a boatload of money.

And that's exactly the argument opponents of this bill are using to send it on the fast track to oblivion.

The only problem is, it's nothing more than another lie, paid for by, well, you—the taxpayer.

Here's the deal...

Back in 2002, Congress gave a subsidy to manufacturers that didn't include Big Oil. But the WTO had ruled that the subsidy was a violation of trade accords. So Congress then came up with a provision that lowered the corporate tax rate from 35% to 32%. This did include oil companies.

The recently passed House bill essentially eliminates that tax break for Exxon Mobil, Conoco Phillips, BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Chevron.

So before we go any further, let's get this straight.

The bill does not call for sticking Big Oil with an $18 billion tab. It calls for rescinding a tax break.

Let Them Pay!

Renewable energy opponents often make the argument that if it can't work without subsidies and tax breaks, then it must not be a good business model.

We couldn't agree more.

So let's cut every last cent that you and I pay to the oil companies via all those tax breaks, subsidies and overall support

Why not?

I don't know about you, but why should any of us have to pay to secure the shipping lanes so they can move that oil from point A to point B. That's an operational expense, folks...not a justifiable tax!

Let the oil companies pass that cost—a cost they must incur to do business—on to the consumer.

Let them pay to find more oil too. That's not our job.

In 2006, the US (taxpayers), loaned more than $2 billion directly to oil companies to help them extract, refine, and transport oil in Algeria, Columbia and Russia.

How's that make you feel?

Let's cut the crap, and let the oil companies operate without that golden crutch.

Let the price of gas soar to $15 a gallon.

Let's watch everything we ship, manufacture, eat and wear quintuple in price, and see how fast we level that playing field.

Of course, much of this recent $18 billion debate could've been avoided had this ridiculous stimulus plan (or what I like to call the last band-aid on a sinking ship) included funding a sustainable energy infrastructure that would reward such an investment for decades to come.

You know, instead of sending out a bunch of $600 checks that will depreciate in value from the time they're printed to the time they arrive in your mailbox.

But enough of the ranting.

We're here to make money, right?

So let's do just that.

Seasonal Solar

Over the past few weeks we've watched the entire solar sector get hammered.

Some of it has to do with the overall condition of the market. But there's also a lot of hesitancy on the part of investors because Congress has yet to extend the federal tax credits for solar.

The credits are set to expire at the end of 2008. And few seem willing to jump back in until those credits are extended.

Though in about 3 to 5 years, none of this will really matter anyway. Because the cost of solar will be competitive with natural gas and coal, thanks to increasing efficiencies, lower production costs and future global warming legislation that IS going to happen, and WILL affect the profitability of utilities operating coal-fired power plants.

Of course that still doesn't change current market conditions.

But while solar will continue to experience a bumpy ride in 2008, there is one angle you can play this year that will prove to be a very profitable angle in the second and third quarter.

Profiting from Solar Installations

While we are seeing a lot of folks shying away from solar right now, installers are gearing up for a record year.

The tax credits are still in place for the next ten months. And there's a massive backlog of installation contracts in California-the state with SB-1, the Million Solar Roofs Bill that was signed into law in 2006.

As the Golden State continues to move forward with its goal of one million solar roofs, installers are guaranteed a robust marketplace for the next eight years. And that's with or without the federal tax credits

And the best part is, the few publicly-traded companies that install solar have been caught up in the recent market meltdown...providing bargain hunters with an excellent opportunity to pick up shares at ridiculously low levels.

Our favorite, and really one of just a handful, is Akeena Solar (NASDAQ:AKNS).

Akeena is one of California's largest installers. But its standardized installation system (a system that saves massive amounts of time and money) is what separates it from the typical installer. As well, it's aligned with the biggest solar manufacturers in the world, including SunPower, SunTech and Kyocera.

The stock is trading below $6.00 right now.

But in a few months, as we head into the busiest installation season (spring and summer), we're going to see this company land a wealth of new contracts, drawing the fence-sitters in to push the stock back up to levels closer to $9.00 a share.

You can read more about Akeena Solar at Green Chip Stocks.

To a new way of life, and a new generation of wealth...

Jeff