Yesterday, as did many, I went to my parents' house for our annual celebration of Father's Day. During dinner the conversation turned to the construction of a new water treatment plant in my hometown of Elkton, MD.

"They started last year," my dad said. "Senator Mikulski even came to see it a few weeks ago. And have you seen the pipes? They're laying them all the way down Route 40."

Really, I thought. How perfect is this? Even in the backwoods town of Elkton, MD, it's possible to see, though on a small scale, the vast overhaul our nation's water and electric infrastructures are currently undergoing.

Naturally, my mind went into overdrive as I pondered the construction of this new facility.

Who's building it? Who's paying for it? How much was the contract worth? And, most importantly, how can we make money from it?

So after dessert I said my goodbyes, made the drive back to Baltimore, and did a little digging.

What I found is that Elkton serves as a microcosm for several scenarios currently being played out on a national level.

The town's population has grown by 26% since 2000, from about 11,900 to 15,000. And while that's bigger than the entire nation's growth rate of about 7% for the same period, the implications of population growth are very much the same: with increased population comes increased demand for water and energy or, more specifically, electricity.

So not only is Elkton building a new water treatment plant that will double the town's capacity by 2008, they also recently signed a deal with a private landowner to create new wells and forged a separate deal with a private water company.

Plus, county planners are trying to get commuter train service to Washington extended into Elkton as well as a service extension from Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), which would connect Elkton residents to Pennsylvania and beyond.

Maryland has even seen the creation of the Smart Growth Economic Development Infrastructure Fund, which has shelled out well over $30 million since its inception in 1999 to finance increased gas and electric transmission capacity.

Nationally, it's been said that the electrical infrastructure is in need of a $100 billion facelift to keep up with rising demand. Globally, we're looking at an unfathomable $20 trillion.

You see, our current national transmission system is getting pretty old. Just take a look at this table that projects the age of our infrastructure by 2030.

Using those numbers, nearly 70% of electricity transmission systems will be over 50 years old by 2030, suggesting the need for mass renovation and replacement.

And not only is the transmission infrastructure aging, so are the generation facilities:

Here we see that 61% of electricity generation facilities will celebrate their 50^th birthday before 2030. But, more importantly, 98% of those facilities generate electricity in a non-renewable manner.

And that's the best part for Green Chip investors. Because as that $100+ billion investment starts to pay out, you can bet it won't be in dirty coal- and natural-gas-fired plants.

We'll see the bulk of that money go to wind, geothermal, and solar projects--especially with the Renewable Portfolio Standards being implemented by individual states and even, perhaps, nationally.

And not only are the generation facilities going to be green, so will the way in which we update the transmission systems. We'll soon see smart, dynamic grids that offer demand response technology as well as remote meter reading and monitoring in an effort to increase capacity while reducing demand.

The opportunities for profit here will be huge.

This stuff is happening right now all around us. It's just hard to see without taking a step back and looking at the big picture.

It's easy to see one project in your home town without realizing that these things are going on everywhere--and that you have the opportunity to profit from them.

During last night's dinner my dad said, "When they built this stuff the first time, they didn't take the future into account. Hopefully, they'll get it right this time."

Make sure you get it right too. Learn how to take advantage of these opportunities with us today.

Until next time,

Nick

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