With the country’s attention focused on the ecological catastrophe in the Gulf, the U.S. Senate has finally started to once again address major energy legislation. Green-energy exchange traded fund (ETFs) may get a chance to shine as Congress tries to entice the sector with some basic incentives.

By Jared Cummans

It has been more than two months since an oil rig exploded and sank in the Gulf of Mexico, setting off one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history. The aftermath of the spill has called into question the very survival of British oil giant BP (BP), and dealt a devastating blow to pension funds and other investors who had come to rely on the company’s dividend payment. But the fallout didn’t end with BP; a proposed moratorium on deep-water drilling threatens to shake up the industry and increased regulatory oversight seems inevitable.

Congress has yet to pass a comprehensive new energy bill, but Senate Democrats are meeting behind closed doors to itemize a list of proposals that could breathe new life into alternative-energy ETFs. Still, the road to an all-encompassing energy bill will be arduous and long.

President Barack Obama has summoned eight senators to the White House for broad, bipartisan talks concerning energy legislation. He has also sat down with Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.), a swing vote on several key issues this year, reports Lisa Mascaro for The Los Angeles Times.