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Waiting for that spark: metals demand in markets for wind, solar and other renewable energy sources will be among the first to take off once the economy improves.

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WHILE SERVICE CENTERS may not be seeing much demand from alternative energy markets at the moment--especially given the weak economy and low energy prices--that will change. How quickly depends on how successful the Obama administration is in ending the recession and promoting the use of renewable energy sources.

"Right now, at least from a service center point of view, we see it as much more talk and not so much walk," says Bill Jones, vice chairman of O'Neal Industries, Birmingham, Ala. Despite the administration's emphasis on alternative energy, "I don't see that much activity leading to service center sales, at least at this time. What is happening is more planning than actual work."

The potential, however, is clear. The federal New Energy for America plan sets a goal of 10 percent of all electricity coming from renewable sources by 2012, increasing to 25 percent by 2025. Renewable sources include wind, solar, geothermal and hydropower--technologies that are all metal intensive--along with clean coal and nuclear, which are also potential growth markets for metal suppliers.

So is the power transmission sector. Additional transmission lines and transmission towers will be needed to tie all this new power into the already congested U.S. power grid.

"Actually, our business from the alternative energy sector was better last year and the year before than it is right now," says David H. Hannah, chairman and chief executive officer for Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co., Los...

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