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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: Neal, let’s begin with the sector that you cover for Morgan Keegan & Company. What is included under what you have called “Distributed Power Technology?”

Mr. McAtee: We have a pretty broad definition of what we have termed “Distributed Power Technology,” and it includes anybody that produces power or electricity or contributes to the infrastructure to do so. At one extreme we have The Shaw Group (NYSE:SGR), which is a company that builds electricity generation plants for third parties, and we go all the way to fuel cell companies and some of the companies that support that newer technology. The definition also includes solar power, and we’re in the process of looking at additional companies.

TWST: Do these companies, for the most part, produce products or do they also provide services?

Mr. McAtee: For the most part, these companies produce products. Shaw produces products in the sense that it is one of the largest pipe fabricators for these power plants, but it also has a large engineering, procurement and erection operation.

TWST: Are there any others in the group that you’d like to talk about briefly?

Mr. McAtee: The other one I would talk about is The Shaw Group, which is more of a traditional distributed power technology company. They build power plants, coal plants, natural gas plants and nuclear plants worldwide, and it’s basically trading at 10 times earnings and has over two years of revenue in the backlog. Shaw is one that I would go out and buy today because there is some valuation you can sink your teeth into. I do believe that, despite talking about how positive I am on some of these newer technologies, there’s still a need for basic power generation. The reason I would put Shaw in this group is that some of the power plants they’re building are natural gas-fired utility plants, which are smaller and are being placed closer to where the power is needed. The major theme behind distributed power technology is the idea of moving away from big, base load facilities that are built between 200 and 400 miles away from where the power is needed. For example, a refinery will build a power plant next door to supply its power. Typically it’s an oil company that’s bringing oil onshore to refine it. They also have natural gas production. They can just take their natural gas production and run it into their power generation unit and produce electricity for the refinery. You’re also seeing, in Manhattan for example, some small natural gas turbines being built to provide enough power for buildings. The reason for that is that it’s very difficult to build a big plant in upstate New York and then put enough transmission wires in place to get all that power to Manhattan, where it’s needed. So that’s the whole idea behind distributed power generation, and Shaw is a leading player in that in a more traditional sense. And, as I said, it has some value you can really address and sink your teeth into, unlike a lot of these other companies.

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.