Instead of producing liquids such as ethanol, which carry unique properties and need to be transported through a separate set of transmission pipelines, Kior is developing fuel that is virtually identical to the crude oil ultimately refined into gasoline, diesel and other distillates.  "Their drop-in nature provides them with immediate access to markets via the existing global fuels infrastructure," note analysts at UBS.

The good news: a number of states have rising Renewables Portfolio Standards (RPS), which call for steadily increasing use of these kinds of renewable fuels. The bad news: Kior is several years away from full-scale production and won't generate any profits until then. A key near-term milestone involves the opening of a larger plant in Columbus, Miss. in 2012.If the company can prove the viability of its technology at this larger scale, then additional investors are likely to find interest. UBS figures shares are worth $28 on a discounted cash-flow basis, which is more than double the current price. However, the market needs to stabilize and interest in clean energy stocks needs to return before shares start to rebound.

Action to Take --> As noted earlier, insiders have notoriously bad timing, so these stocks can surely weaken some more before rebounding. But insiders buy these types of stocks based on their promising long-term view, and this should be your focus as well. In the long-run, you will likely get a great deal on one or more of these stocks -- a dream come true for deep value investors.

-- David Sterman

P.S. -- Few investors realize that a 20-year energy agreement between the United States and Russia is about to expire. This deal supplies 10% of America's electricity. As broke as our government is, the situation is so serious that President Obama is asking for $36 billion to avert this crisis. And Republicans support him. Here's what's going on…