What About Wind? Another Way To Play Japan's Nuclear Woes

Alternative energy plays are certainly in vogue this week thanks to the calamity surrounding nuclear power in Japan. Adding to the woes of the nuclear industry and related ETFs are headlines from Germany that the country will launch a lengthy evaluation of its own nuclear plans.

The U.K. has vowed to do the same and Switzerland has, at least temporarily, scrapped plans to move forward with nuclear projects. All of this is very good news indeed for the alternative energy sector, but how long the good times last for a sector that has been challenged to string together lengthy bull runs is anyone's guess.

Still, taking a look at some wind power ETFs couldn't hurt. Prior to the natural disasters that struck Japan, wind ETFs were something of a forgotten lot, but there may be some upside left to have in this group. Here are a few ETFs with wind power exposure to get started with.

1) PowerShares Global Wind Energy ETF PWND:
We profiled PWND earlier this month in our "Under the Hood" feature, noting that the ETF may offer some value as it had been left behind during the recent market rally. Japan has been a major catalyst for this ETF as it has surged 4.5% in the last week turning a mediocre chart into something more compelling.

Buying on a pullback to $10.25 would be best, but even from $10.75, PWND may offer as much as 10% upside.

2) First Trust Global Wind Energy FAN:
FAN is the other dominant name among wind energy ETFs and it was in a more visible uptrend than PWND leading up to the Japan situation. Plus, FAN has also slightly outperformed PWND over the past year. The ETF is up over 4% in the past two days and that says its price action when Japan is out of the headlines will be very telling about this ETF's outlook going forward.

3) Market Vectors Global Alternative Energy ETF GEX:
Not a pure play on wind, but GEX does offer exposure to wind, solar and biofuels. One-stop shopping for the alternative energy crowd, but like FAN and PWND, the key with GEX is how this ETF stands on its on merits in the absence of negativity surrounding more widely used energy sources.

On a technical basis, GEX would be a buy on a breakout above $21.75.