The energy legislation before the Senate has taken a leading role in national news of late. And as Jeff pointed out the other day, some of the proposed amendments have garnered the epithet "controversial" among major media outlets.

I guess "controversial," when used like this, means that the auto and coal industries aren't getting what they want, which leads me to say: Awww, is someone gonna cry?

More light was shone yesterday on this "controversy" and what it means for the aforementioned entities. You see, for every blow dealt to the Big Three and the coal industry, there's an upside for Green Chip investors.

Let's have a look at two of the most contentious issues in this bill.

First is the national Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) introduced by Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico. Under his proposal, utilities nationwide would be required to buy 15 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2020.

This provision would significantly increase the investment in renewable energy by providing a stable market and firm targets for growth. Right now, with renewables accounting for only about 4% of the nation's power supply, our Green Chip subscribers are already taking nice profits. This clause would all but guarantee even bigger returns from this sector.

And Bingaman, the amendment's sponsor, doesn't look like he's going to back down. "I don't believe Sen. Bingaman is in a trading mood in regards to RPS," said one Democratic staffer.

The other section of the bill that will spur profits for Green Chip investors concerns the government's support--or lack thereof--for liquid coal.

You see, despite intense lobbying from the coal industry and opposition from the Senators the industry has in their pocket, the Senate rejected two amendments related to the dirty fuel.

Given the axe was one provision calling for up to $10 billion in loans for liquid coal plants and another requiring liquid coal to comprise six billion gallons of the nation's fuel supply by 2022.

Sorry, coal, I guess your share of the fuel supply--and the associated profits--will be supplanted by renewables. We'll just add that to the 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel this bill is already going to guarantee us.

And the Green Chip team will be there every step of the way as we begin to see the effects of this legislation on the market.

Until next time,

Nick