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Five analysts and top management from fifteen sector firms examine the energy sector in this special 70-page Energy issue from The Wall Street Transcript, available at (212/952-7433) or http://www.twst.com/info/info461.htm.

TWST: Will this help to reduce our dependence on Middle Eastern oil?

Mr. McAtee: Yes, it will reduce our dependence on Middle Eastern hydrocarbons, but we will still need those hydrocarbons because they are a great source of hydrogen. Oil and natural gas are hydrocarbons, which means that they have hydrogen and carbon molecules. The reason it reduces our dependence is because we can increase our efficient use of energy. Just to give you a quick example, only about 15% of the energy in gasoline is used to turn the wheels of your car. 85% of that is either wasted or is used to turn the fan belts, the transmission and the engine. In an electric car, almost 50% of the energy that you put into the car is used to turn the wheels. Since hydrogen is a great way to produce electricity, going to a hydrogen-based economy can decrease our dependence on Middle Eastern oil. We’re never going to get away from using oil or natural gas completely because, as I mentioned earlier, they are great sources of hydrogen. But the overall efficiencies will decrease the amount of those products we need to do what we want to get done. So why should you be invested in this group? Number one, it makes way too much sense for us not to go to a hydrogen-based economy. And number two, the companies with the most vested interest in maintaining the status quo now have made public announcements that they believe this is the direction in which to go.

TWST: And then that takes us to the characteristics of the companies that investors should be looking at if they’re going to put together a portfolio of stocks of this group.

Mr. McAtee: Exactly. Number one, if it’s a fuel cell company, for example, I like to look at it in the context of how they are addressing the three basic components of the fuel cell system. In other words, how are they addressing the fuel cell and what type of fuel cell are they using? Number two, how are they addressing the balance of plant? And number three, how are they addressing where they’re getting the hydrogen to run their system? So I think you have to look at it from that standpoint. In addition, I think you have to look at the management team. Do they have experience in taking products from the lab to the field? What’s the quality of management? Have they been able to manage expectations so far?

TWST: Let’s say we have an investor who wants to have exposure to the group. Where does that investor start?

Mr. McAtee: We need to go back and look at the criteria that I laid out. First, I would look at Millennium Cell (Nasdaq:MCEL). Finally, for solar power, AstroPower (Nasdaq:APWR) is my pick. Right now, AstroPower is selling everything they can produce, and they’ve had a number of capacity expansions over the last several years. Every time they expand, they continue to sell their capacity. They’re also making money.

1) Outlook for Energy Stocks - In an in-depth (9,000 words) Analyst Interview, Arthur L. Smith, Chairman and CEO, Christopher W. Sheehan, Senior Vice President, Robert E. Gillon, Vice President and John B. Parry, Vice President, all at John S. Herold, Inc., examine the outlook for the sector and share specific stock recommendations.

2) Distributed Power Technology - In an in-depth (4,900 words) Analyst Interview, W. Neal McAtee, Managing Director at Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc., examines the outlook for the sector and shares specific stock recommendations.

3) CEO interviews (average 2,500 words). Top management of fifteen sector firms examine the outlook for their firm and the sector.