There is a public Forum for discussions about Pickens plan :
http://www.pickensenergyplan.com
Cheers.

It is a plan, something that our President and Congress doesn’t seem to have. Richard Nixon slowed us to 55 and turned down the heat, Clinton in the spring of 2000 released the oil reserves and both got immediate results, but our President doesn’t seem to want to do anything that might lower the price of oil rather he wants to drill for more oil in protected areas, I assume to make more money taking advantage of the high prices. Even if we did drill that will take years to bring to market and cannot make much of an impact in the global supply, it can only serve to make those who are doing the drilling more rich.

If Nixon or Clinton had invested in alternative solutions we probably wouldn’t be where we are today. Wind Power isn’t perfect but if it reduces our demand for foreign oil, I am all for it.

I think Mr. Pickens (love that name is on to something..and yes he is a genius (great economist?)……
My thoughts are this is a great future money maker, perhaps not as profitable intially as what we have now, but the potential is there.
As well, it is viable…funny thing is, minus modern technologic advances in material, windmills have been around for a long time and were allowed to ‘die out’…yet our current situation brings to light it’s usefullness. It’s my thought that perhaps a fan lke generator could be built (large enough of course) to compensate on those less or not windy days allowing it to fully function Iof course that is assuming they are built in groups). As for infrastructure to tranport this..well, it is evident what we have is in need of updating.. and is actually a must in many places…so why not plan for this now in the under and overhead lines….sure some areas would be supporting other areas for power based on their geographics and usefulness of the windmills…but setting up guidelines to prevent politicaization of that power can stem that from abuse.

Look to the European countries for how affective Wind power can be. On a recent trip to Ireland, we noticed an abundance of wind power turbines….they make enough to supplement themselves and “extra” power to sell to the continental countries. It’s working profitably in other countries, we Americans just have to put our minds (and invest some dollars) to make it work here.

I believe the “Pickens Plan” touches on a larger problem. Mr. Pickens has the benefit of high profile, and also a vast wealth. Innovation is one of the best natural resources of this country. If one comes up with a novel idea (and yes, I believe that I have) that they believe feasible, what can you do with it? The patent process has a multitude of flaws, allowing a minor change in design to enable a corporation to steal the concept. Good luck finding an attorney to fight a patent infringement suit against the giants.
What is needed is a clearing house for ideas, to weed out the crazies or non-viable solutions, that would allow for some pathway for ideas to develop to fruition. Perhaps our engineering community could be involved, with some compensation from the government if necessary.
There are large sources of wasted energy that are currently untapped. To do so would not violate any known scientific principles, but most inventors don’t wish to be ripped off either.

p.s. (not for posting) if anyone with a legitimate engineering background is interested in my alluded to idea, it is ok to give them my email address

At least it is a plan. Coupled with this is Congress inaction to curb the Oil Speculators. They are the ones who are causing the cost of a barrel of oil to skyrocket. I agree that Picken’s plan needs more work to accomplish it, but let’s get it rolling. I support using what is free to use even if he does make a few bucks of it. I would rather he get it then the speculators. At least he would earn it, instead of the paper shuffling Speculators who only line their own pockets at the expense ultimately on the little guy who is try to support his family and get by.

Why not build more nuclear power plants?

Wind wont power vehicles, but will power energy.
How about discussing the use of Sugar Cane for our fuel of the future. 40-50% of cars in Brazil are currently using Sugar Cane as its fuel, with that # surely to rise. Sugar Cane based fuel is a renewable resource and can be grown readily here in the United States. The gulf region from the south of Texas to the tip of Florida as well as on the Atlantic side in North and South Carolina and in Hawaii as well. The government needs to stop its subsidy of tobacco and then turning around and suing the cigarette makers. And in turn offer subsidies for growing sugar cane for fuel!

We need to move away from oil as a whole, and stop looking for other spots to keep drilling and ruining our landscape.Natural Gas will eventually run out and then in 30-40 years we will be right back at this point looking for more alternatives. I saw invest MORE in renewable non petroleum based products. If Brazil can use sugar cane for its fuel, surely America can, if we are the superpower we claim to be!

I believe that Mr. Pickens should make the presidential candidates commit to a sound energy plan for the future. We cannot afford presidential candidates that just avoid this issue and are afraid of committing to a plan. Maybe Mr. Pickens would make a good VP candidate and be given the job of leading the nation to a sound energy policy.

This is a great idea. We need to think of the future. Not keep looking for oil which only pollutes, and costs alot. I think that Wind power along with Solar Panels spread out across New Mexico and Arizona would greatly reduce our dependence on foreign oil. I read an article that suggests taking extra electrictiy produced during the day by Solar panels, and using it to pump compressed air into underground caverns which are available in large areas of the country. At night, the compressed air could be used to power a turbine to generate more electricity.

If check out http://www.evworld.com, you will find that most car companies are developing either hybrid, or completely electric cars. Green electricity combined with an electric car would allow me to tell the oil companies and the Middle East to get lost. I can’t wait to buy an electric car which will be available late next year.

Before you start worrying about the wind not being available all the time Mr. Pickens wants them built in an area in Texas that has what they now call the Arabian Winds at least I think that’s the name of it. This area has constant strong wind currents. Similar to the Santa Anna winds in California that sparks up the fires in California. If he is correct then we don’t have much to fear since it is always windy. I am also sure that there are generators that can store electricity for long periods of time or at least until the windmills start working again. He also talked about building some off shore where it is always windy. Again, it’s not a new plan but what do we have to lose?

The US is going to spend billions of dollars on energy no matter what we do. Spend money now on wind and solar energy, reducing our dependance on foreign oil; put the US at the forefront of these industries, helping our economy in several ways; or spend money on drilling for more oil, putting us further behind current leaders like Germany, Sweden and China.
It seems so obvious - it doesn’t matter if you believe in global warming, if we don’t get serious about alternate, clean, energy sources, we are hastening the bankruptcy of our country.

Resolving the energy crisis is a lot simpler than most people believe (or are led to believe). First of all, get busy on licensing and building nuclear power plants. (And tell those opposed to get lost). Second, get busy on developing electric cars. (Why is it that individual, small inventors can build cars that run 100 plus miles on a charge when are automotive manufacturing giants can’t?) (Are they just manned with “yes”, zombie engineers?) Third, continue the research and then institute “clean coal” technology to increase the use of coal, and last, accelerate the building of wind power generators and solor panels. These five “can be done” proposals would knock off at least 75% of the demand for oil and drastically diminish the outflow of our American capital. America — GET BUSY!!!

Mr. Pickens plan is aggressive. I don’t feel its the best solution, given the amount of transmission infrastructure required and the fact that the wind doesn’t always blow when power is needed. Further you would need the ability to deliver natural gas to gas stations.

I think a preferred plan would be one involving plug-in hybrids that are charged overnight when utilities have excess capacity. This would utiliize current transmission, and could utilitize current generation capacity. Add some nuclear units and you have an energy plan that allows the US to be self-reliant. This plan would require substantially less infrastructure changes and only requires progress in battery technology.

July 10th, 2008 1:42 pm ET
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Mr. Pickens plan is aggressive. I don’t feel its the best solution, given the amount of transmission infrastructure required and the fact that the wind doesn’t always blow when power is needed. Further you would need the ability to deliver natural gas to gas stations.

I think a preferred plan would be one involving plug-in hybrids that are charged overnight when utilities have excess capacity. This would utiliize current transmission, and could utilitize current generation capacity. Add some nuclear units and you have an energy plan that allows the US to be self-reliant. This plan would require substantially less infrastructure changes and only requires progress in battery technology.

He’s has some of it right, some of it is probably wrong but that can’t be proven yet, and there will undoubtedly some unintended consequences. However, he is 100% correct in that we have to change what we have been doing regarding our future energy needs. You have to start somewhere. If he can get us going in that direction, the final destination will likely not be what he envisions, but without a vision and leadership, we will never get their in the first place. Let’s start that direction with what we have and see where it goes.

The wind energy part of T. Boone Pickens plan is a good idea but the portion about converting natural gas to transportation fuel is not.
Converting commercial vehicles to use the natural gas is an expensive process. And it still will release stored CO2

We should build an enhanced national power grid that would allow wind and solar generated electricity to be transported to all areas of the nation. The new power grid could be built along existing utility corridors and the Interstate Highway system. Part of the new power grid should be routed to desalinization plants along the coasts that would convert sea water to drinking water. That water could then be transported in pipe lines installed in the same corridors as the power grid. Both the power and water would rout throughout the nation. Besides insuring a nationwide reliable source for both electricity and water it would provide the raw ingredients for producing hydrogen at the local level. The technology for producing hydrogen from water is very simple.

Converting vehicles to use hydrogen as a fuel is no more expensive than converting them to use natural gas.

This system would not release any CO2 and would make the U.S. totally energy independent.

I think wind is in, but I also think more attention should be focused on Solar and geothermic energy options. There is a huge potential for solar energy collection from space, beamed down to the Earth. Don’t laugh; this is actually doable, and there is some serious research going on in this area. A more down-to-Earth option is government subsidies (or subsidies from tycoons like Boone!…yeah, right) for solar powered homes, and solar “hybrid” homes (those using both electricity from the grid, and from their own solar collector system). There is no “one” solution; the overall solution is an inter-connection of all alternative energy sources.

Our best source of power is the sun. The best method to harness the power of the Sun, is put Solar panels in space and beam the energy to Earth. The U.S. Government is looking into putting solar panels into space. It will require a coming together of private and government money and cooperation. India is also looking into solar power to meet the needs of their growing economy. It is clean and limitless. The problems is getting the material into space and assembled. We need a President like Kennedy, or Reagan to excite the power and the will of the country.

Given current windpower technologies, what mitigation is in place for the noise (blade cavitation and low frequency pulses generated by blades passing by the stationary tower structures)? This noise has caused downwind residents and communities to suffer increased levels of stress, discomfort, loss of sleep, and even, in several documented cases, loss of property values where communities are thus affected.

Bernie Krause, PhD

I don’t mind him making gazillions. I mind that CNN represents him as a near-hero, come to save us from having to reduce our energy consumption.

This will NOT save us from peak oil.

I think that Mr. Picken’s plan seems very interesting. It would be interesting also to hear what others, such as Mr. Gore, think of his plan. I believe that it would be management of our resources than anytime in our history, or a step towards it. We need to manage our resources better, whether we are extremely liberal or extremely conservative. I believe it must happen soon. I would like to see the comparison in costs of managing windmills and other equipment necessary to present day costs. I hope more people listen to Mr.
Pickens.

obviously who ever keeps putting out the rumor that it’d take years to get production out of ANWAR and the rest of the coast has no experience in the oil buisness. In my experience, if ANWAR were to be opened there could be production as soon as the end of the year. The oil industry is very competitive and has the funds to complete such ambitious plans. Not to mention most of the equipment needed is already built and sitting in a stock yard or warehouse just waiting to be boxed up and shipped to alaska asap. So please stop assuming it would take years to get any production as that is just a plain flat lie

I for one applaud Mr. Pickens for having the fortitude to stand and advance the discussion and encourage national debate on the subject our elected leaders have proven too cowardly to approach.
Energy is the life blood of our economy. Its not just our quality of life it is life itself for the US based on how we have constructed our cities and communities for the past 75 years.
Auto makers have been able to mass produce every model of vehicle passneger and commercial with power plants that run on natural gas for 20 years or more. A cheap easy to install adapter allows consumers to safely fill their tanks at home for approx $2 gal.

I disagree that wind is an unreliable energy source or that transmission capacity is lacking. The wind never stops moving, never. The capacity of current wind turbines is far superior to what it was just 5 years ago. And if we push forward with its use industry will be rewarded to increase its effeciency further.
As for transmission, our national infrastructure is falling apart and the next administration can’t possibly miss the need for a national federally funded 50 yr project to rebuild highways, bridges, roads, rail roads, canals, telecom & energy transmission assets.

Bottomline is we have to get a grip on ourselves. American inginuity, entrepreneurialism and technological brain trust will prevail. They must. We cannot survive as a nation or a culture by sending trillions of dollars to people and governments who really don’t like us.

The answers to our problems are in our hands. It is only we who will solve this crisis and only our children who will bear the consequence of our actions.

Come on GM, Ford, Toyota, I’ll buy a natural gas vehicle. Don’t fool yourselves like you did with the whole they won’t buy seat belts or air bags or anti lock brakes or increased fuel economy lies you’ve been telling for 50 years.

We could set up a wind farm in Washington DC with all the hot air blowing out there we would never run out of electricity. I applaud T Boone for stepping up to the plate when we need all the help we can get - non of us can afford to wait ten to twenty years for a solution to the energy problem. Being self sufficient and independent should be our mantra

It’s his money, let him spend it, if wind pwer is fickle combine it with solar. on another Front Nissan mentioned plans to build electric cars,
and lamented that there is need for infrastructure in parking lots to allow commuters to charge up while parked, I say let’s raise the ante and allow for cars to sell extra power back. I’ve heard all the arguments against solar panels on cars: costs too much, not enough power for the investment, the efficiency of energy conversion is too low… Who cares? Offer it as an option. People who care will spend their money on it, Just like t. Boone. Give it enough time and the efficiency will improve, and the cost will drop, before long it will be a standard feature. Then when your car is baking in the lot for 8 hours a day, it might at least do something useful some of the time it’s there. If we’re planning to upgrade the infrastructure lets design it right so that all power lines are two way conduits, to your car and your home.

B. Krause, so are you saying that some downwind folks suffering “stress and discomfort” is worse than the explosion of kids having asthma caused by coal fired power plants?

Yesterday evening, I sent the following email to Mr. Pickens. I think the text will explain my point of view:

Greetings Mr. Pickens.

You and I are not unalike – though I must confess
to not being a legend in my own time, nor an
economic power house.

Understanding that you have invested significant
resources into wind and solar (and assuming you
are an expert in conventional and alternate primary
energy generation) – I’d like you to reconsider
geothermal / hydrothermal [hot rock].

To reiterate the benefits:

1) Can be located on or near any power grid supply
origin – where basalt strata is within 8 km of surface.

2) Has been proven with existing technology on a small
scale basis, with a few plants in operation.

3) Zero carbon and ‘greenhouse’ gas emissions.

4) Closed loop. Water makeup is minimal.

5) Little environmental cost during drilling, near zero after
start-up.

6) Appears far safer than any other current source.

7) Almost immune to going offline due to natural events;
and because of the small footprint and relative
simplicity, sabotage, as well.

I think this covers the major themes. Keep up the good work
for our benefit. Understand that you are a businessman, in it
for the profit. That’s fine by me, so I salute your efforts. If it
makes you another few billions, that the free market in action.

Best regards,

To me, the choice seems simple: Roll out alternative energy now, over time while we can do so fairly cheaply; or later, all at once and at very high cost.
Oil is not going to last, and the reason doesn’t matter. It can be because we run out, we decide we can’t afford the risks of drilling in sensitive areas, or we decide we can’t afford the risks of the pollutants we produce from using it. Any of these reasons will take oil out of the picture. Eventually coal will be in the same situation.
The transition will be very painful if we don’t have alternative energy ready to go when we need it.
Regarding Dr. Krause’s comments above, all energy technologies have trade-offs. We learn to live with some problems until we have a better solution. The Model-T didn’t come with modern pollution control systems like catalytic converters. We lived with it until we needed something better, and then we worked at it until we delivered it. I’m sure we will reduce some of the noise levels down to tolerable levels, but this will take experimentation and we will not get it perfect the first time. Waiting until we do is going to mean much higher costs to all of us, not just at the pump, but in air quality and other environmental damages. Our best bet is to start off putting wind turbines in areas where cavitation and low frequency noise are going to cause the least amount of trouble–furthest away from homes at the beginning. As we learn to mitigate these, then we can start putting them closer to inhabited areas if needed.
So the choice is: cheap and painless now, or expensive and painful later. Which is it?
I personally would guess that we will go for expensive and painful later. After all, why do things now when we can make our kids pay for them later?

What I like about the plan is that the energy produced would most likely be used here and would provide help here. This is also true of his plan to “harvest” solar power in our desert areas.

Producing more oil on our shores doesn’t guarantee anything about our own resources or prices because private companies drilling for the oil sell it on the open market. There’s no guarantee prices will drop if the growth of other nations’ economies further drives demand.

I think it’s a good plan and one that will take a while to implement. Cleaner nuclear power should also be considered on a larger scale here.

I do agree that storage and transportation of energy is a problem. The best thing that could happen is to have an abundance of energy choices that are cost effective for different regions of our country.

I hope oil prices remain high because this will cause us to conserve and look away from foreign production. There’s just something ironic about Abu Dhabi businessmen who have made so much money from oil production buying 90% of an American icon such as the Chrysler building.

Geeeeez doc , What about the stress,noise,discomfort etc when the power goes out! This is the kind of thinking that will drive our society into the ground!
Go T. Boone!
By the way, oil from Alaska or Arabia would still be sold on the world market to the highest bidder, China, which has plenty of cash and demand thanks to American companies that have moved our jobs there. Any one saying we can drill out of this is blowing smoke… Follow the money!

Pickens is smart, he knows energy, especially oil, and he appreciates facts and reality, unlike some other prominent people… When he says oil has peaked, or nearly so, I believe him. He says we can’t drill our way out of this, and I believe this is certainly true. There is a little more oil to be found, here and there, and we will surely drill it eventually, but that is not the big issue. The big problem we face is how to survive in an increasingly oil-starved world, and how to reduce the massive transfer of wealth abroad. Pickens is not the first to advocate wind, but his prominence and credibility will surely give a big boost to the best and cheapest source of energy available during the coming decades.

There is a company called LS9 in Silicon Valley that is experimenting with bacteria that have been genetically altered to provide ‘renewable petroleum’.

Here:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article4133668.ece

How come oil companies are not looking into this technology?

Whatever alternative power sources we eventually develop one thing is obvious, the generating facilities will not be local to the areas requiring the most power. It will be necessary to wheel power over great distances from multi-point sources, be they solar, wind, tidal, geo-thermal or whatever may come down the pike. Creating the infrastructure to accomplish this is a responsibility that should fall to the national government. The interstate highway system was built with federal dollars to facilitate commerce and justified as a national defense investment. An “electrical interstate grid” fits that model precisely.

We need to greatly increase research in the area of higher temperature super conductivity and begin planning for a nationwide high voltage direct current distribution system. Breakthroughs in alternative energy technology may come at any time but it will take twenty or more years to physically build a distribution system to take advantage of any high impact technology.

Natural gas filling stations would be required and engines would have to be refitted. Natural gas for cars was introduced in Houston wehen it was very cheap in the early 1990s but it did not gain traction for the reasons above. I think it is better suited to large fleets, eg. Post Office and FedEx.

Still if it replaces some Middle Eastern crude oil and reduces emissions in large cities then I am for it. It is a start.

From the Blogger:

Thanks to all of the many commenters thus far. This is maybe the smartest collection of comments on any item we’ve had since the blog started in February.

For David: Thanks for the LS9 suggestion. Miles O’Brien and producer Marsha Walton shot a story there last week; it should air and run on cnn.com in a week or so.

Peter Dykstra

There isn’t one perfect solution. I really like this plan, and believe that wind power and natural gas need to be part of the equation. But so does solar, nuclear, hydrogen, biodiesel, more efficient ethanol, and drilling for our own oil. All of these are viable solutions that need to be started immediately. Some will reap benefits quicker than others, but we need to pursue all of these avenues until we reach energy independence.

Pickens has a plan. The only thing I’ve heard from anybody else is a wish. Big difference. Huge difference. If somebody else has a better plan, not a better wish, I’d sure like to hear it.

I find myself somewhat irritated by your summary of Mr. Pickens plan. It seems that the media wants to either scream that the sky is falling or dismiss realistic “step” improvements to the existing system because they are complicated or don’t provide and immediate “total” solution to our energy problems. We didn’t become dependent on foreign energy sources overnight and we won’t solve the problem quickly either. Wind and solar can be a positive step. And whoever has the will and resource to implement it should make a lotttt of money. That is what works. Of course, for wind or solar to work you will need to have a hybrid implementation to account for no wind, clouds, or nighttime. That is what the existing gas or coal plants would become. They are already there!! And there will be a large cost to get the power to where it needs to go. Have you seen the estimated cost of the natural gas pipeline from Alaska? It is an expensive business. Also, have you seen the daily cost of the war in Iraq, also expensive? With some judicial government support (not oversight) we might be able to take LA, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, Salt Lake, Vegas and a lot of smaller cites primarily off the existing grid. This would maybe reduce our dependence on fossil fuels by 5-10% but it would be a good start. From that infrastructure the system could organically grow to maybe 20-30% over time. In summary, try to educate the public not dismiss solutions because they are not the “silver bullet” that will solve all of our problems.

I “wish” people would read the damn plan. He’s doing wind, because that’s what’s available in that area of the country. He also said that other parts of the country need other solutions. Quite nit-picking him, and give him some credit for getting people off the dime. You got a plan for your part of the country? Put it out there. And I don’t mean a wish - I mean a Plan. Big difference. Put your money where you mouth is, like Boone is doing.

I’m concerned about the depletion of our wind supply. A lot of natural species depend on abundant wind. Raptors like hawks and eagles for example, even some insects. Should we just allow private capitalists exploit our public, world wind supply?

Well I applaud Mr. Pickens. He is not sitting on his rear taking PAC money and pretending there is not a problem, like some other people I know in this country. Any plan is better than no plan at all. Maybe his plan isn’t perfect but with a little tweaking it would be alot more than what we have now. I live in North Texas and can tell you there is PLENTY of wind here we get the wind that rushes off of the Rockie Mountains. So there is no doubt that a wind farm here would be able to create enough energy to last for a good while.

If course the wind idea is a start… of course T.B. Pickens is on board.. he is a business man and knows that this is the future and he can put money into it because soon the U.S. gov. will be subsidizing this. I am just saying it is not all altruistic. Follow the money.. it is really too bad that he didn’t put his money into this sort of thing 4 years ago instead of financiing the Swiftboat people against Kerry. Don’t be fooled Mr. Pickens made boat loads of money under Bush now he sees the wind blowing a different direction. I wonder why he is buying up so much of the water rights in the southwest. Just follow the money.

If you haven’t already you must go to Tboone’ web site and see what he and his peeps are up to. http://thepickensplan.com/

Join the discussion. This is a debate that should be taking place in every work place over every dinner table on every radio station in every gathering of consequence.

No to ANWAR… it will take years to get the oil to the public as a whole. It will take a lot longer than 6 months ( as yes to anwar has suggested) to build, drill, transport and refine the oil in ANWAR and the supply is not that great, maybe a 5-10 year supply. Lets focus instead on solar, wind and sugar cane as alternatives, also nuclear or new clear technology as Bush states. California already has wind farms outside of Palm Springs, you see them as your driving I-10.. I wonder if anyone has came up with an idea to produce a nuclear powered car. The U.S. Navy uses nuclear powered submarines. I bet it’s possible for a passenger car.

Phoenix, Denver, San Diego, L.A., Las Vegas, and areas where abundant sunshine exists should be living solely on solar power. I was in Denver over the 4th of July and the entire weekend from Friday the 4th til Monday the 7th a government building in downtown had 2/3 of the entire building light up like a xmas tree. Talk about wasteful spending. Imagine how much energy was wasted that 3 day weekend.
Why do we need to drill in America for more oil? We don’t need to anymore, we have the technologies to make clean burning fuels, and WHO squashes that advancement, its the Big Oil companies.

Pickens is right on the money.
Natural gas may have some disadvantages, but it is american, it already has a distribution network available in every city, automobile engines can be easily adapted to use it, and I it is cheaper than gasoline or diesel. It also polutes less.
Honda, GM, and Ford have all built natural gas vehicles already. Honda has one available (Civic)
Nobody is saying this would be the ultimate solution, but it’s the only one I can think of that would be this easy to accomplish in the near term.
All that would be required is for our government to instituite an infrastructure program that would install natural gas fueling stations in all major cities. This may be expensive, but can it really be any more so than Iraq?

Without the $0.019 per kilowatt government subsidy, wind energy production immediately becomes unprofitable (power companies are selling a kilowatt hour to resdential customers at $0.038 at off peak times) - so much for “no government funds needed”. Clearly, we need to have wind energy production, along with nuclear, solar, coal and natural gas. No one item/source is going to solve the problem - the question is how much of the cost of the production is going to be funded by tax dollars, and if the subsidy needs to be 1/2 of the retail price of the power, then the technology is not ready for prime time.

t.b.pickens knows his proposal is just a piece of the whole. we need to be pursuing at full speed- solar / wind / wave / river turbines / bio / space & new technology- combined with education / conservation / recycling design / changing habits & yes regulations ,codes, and incentive programs all with the idea of preserving this planet and living in concert with nature rather than against it. mr. pickens should be commended for his proposal.

scientists, business entrepreneurs, architects, engineers & inventors need to expand t.b. pickens plan into an all inclusive global plan ang get moving before it is too late.

You don’t have to be a scientist to know that if we don’t want to find an answer bad enough, we simply won’t find it. Our entire planet is at a turning point. For our sake and that of future generations, I firmly believe we need to consider all alternatives to the energy crisis and keep an open mind. With that said, A PLAN, is better than NO PLAN. As we move forward, we will discover how to improve on “the plan,” tweek it and as we collaborate as a nation/world, “the plan” will blossom. Other men and women in our nation now need to take up the challenge presented by Mr. Pickens. Our country needs to set the pace. Better lives for all that reside on our planet can be achieved. It only takes one idea (like Mr. Pickens) to get the ball rolling, if we all are willing to keep the ball in play.

I just don’t understand why Mr. Pickens and many others say that we can’t drill our way out of this crisis, as if to say that we should abandon any focus on increased oil production. Shouldn’t we pursue anything and everything that will alieviate our dangerous dependence on imported oil: wind, thermal, solar, as well as carbon based fuels?

The article states that Mr. Pickens is not an environmentalist. Yet “can’t drill our way out” seems to put him in the same bed as the tree huggers who would have us all riding bicycles made of recycled aluminum cans. Is his solution agenda or need driven?

jteter - of course Pickens is doing this to make money. if it doesn’t make economics sense (maybe with some tac credits) it is not worth doing. Do you expect him or anyone in the private sector to give you energy or should the federal govenrment just nationalize the energy sector?

I have had a similar plan to Mr. Pickens but am surprised to see it coming from him but I think he realizes something that I have also come to realize and he is trying to create momentum.
We are on the dawn of a new technological age. The country is threatened and currently suffering greatly from energy extortion. Be it US based or foreign-based, or even foreign-based and US controlled.

There is an epic need faced by our country and the technological innovators here will rise to the challenge. The government needs to help spur and support the action. Think of FDR and public works projects. Think of the dams supplying power to this day and how the govt spurred their development.

Like Mr. Pickens, I believe we need to start at power generation, but I believe in a different plan.

Lets look at it with a decompositional approach.
The one source of power that appears to be limitless and even powers the universe is that of the a sun, for us our sun. Without getting into the technicalities of it, I think we can all agree that it is limitless, at least for our purposes. Think of any energy manifestation that derives from that solar. Solar electrical energy, wind energy, tidal energy (though this is more lunar and gravitational in its origin), and solar thermal. These are what we should be concentrating all our efforts on because they are truly renewable.
I also believe that we need to start with the power plants but I think we need a much larger effort than what Mr. Pickens suggest. Something on the scale of PWA or even WWII. We need to build many more power plants and have to set a standard that at a minimum, for any power plant to be licensed to operate, that it work on a minimum level of efficiency and “greenness” equivalent to the Tampa Electric plant.

This must to take, if not exceeding, at least equivalent focus, effort, and funding as national defense. Lets focus our nation-building efforts here for now. I’m not an isolationist. You have to be stupid to be so in this day and age, but we cannot serve the world at large, as an economic cripple.
The idea that any country in Europe, outside of the Dutch, is ahead of us is embarrassing and alarming.

That’s the bare fleshing out of George’s (me not Bushes) energy plan. There will be ample opportunities for exciting investing and development and we can once again bring our nation, and dollar, to the top.
The longest journey starts with the first step. The sooner the government, and us, get moving, the less opportunity there will be for political games playing. What about, Dems and Repubs, Liberals and Conservatives? Can we get our acts together and make this happen?

Very Truly yours,

George Fernandez

While I am still concerned about the depletion of our national wind resources under TBoones plan, I did note a couple of solutions to the problem of occasional windless days problem on CNBC’s recent 3 part series, “Who owns the Wind”. For those times when the wind just isn’t blowing, we could use traditional power sources, coal or nuclear, to propel the blades as a temporary supplement, just as in a Hybrid car. That way the propellers never stop turning. The other suggestion was a proposal for giant, underground electro-magnetic wind resevoirs to tap into in times of wind shortage. I know America has enough ingenuity to solve these problems.

He is brilliant and dead on. Wind power is a reality the fact that the US lags Europe and Brazil in alternatives to Oil does not mean it does not work, it means we are just slow. We have wind power in several areas of the country and you would be amazed how regular the wind is in certain parts of the country (google “wind maps”). He is also spot on when it comes to water, he is buying it up right now.

With gas at or above $4.20 a gallon and oil at or above $145.00 a barrel, my question to you will be, Who is the Energy Secretary of the United States? Yes, I know. But, does any one else know. How can we have an energy crisis in the United States and no one knows who that person might be. Does any one in this administration give a hoot about what this is doing to our country? I for one appreciate what you are trying to do. My hat is off to you, and I hope you make a ton of money in your attemp to fix our problem. Good luck in your quest. BA Brown

Sorry, forgot one thing.

Forget about any additional drilling. It just postpones the inevitable and will give us cause to procrastinate. The urgency of the issue will be gone.

Also, please forget about genetically modified bacteria generating oil. There are no free rides and this will bite us in the gluts sooner or later. Imagine infections or epidemics of oil producing germs or whatever else they can genetically mutate to on their own. God God.

Two other examples of innovations that can come in aid to the rescue, —Silver-Zinc battery technology
—Honda’s new totally electric cars.

BTW, those new power plants should get tiered subsidies or tax allowances depending on the technology delivered/implemented.
Solar converting water to hydrogen through electrolysis seems to me, non-scientific as I may be, as a good alternative that could last forever and be located anywhere where there is space.
Also, for Wind, there are several kinetic means of storing energy that can be studied, for off-wind periods.

In order to help the populace during this time of transition, all public transportation should be subsidized, to an even greater extent that it is.

Mr. Pickens wants to supply 20% of the US energy demand with wind energy. Is anyone at NOAA calculating the effect of withdrawing that amount of energy from these winds? These winds are a significant part of the circulation that defines climate in North America. Will changes in
wind strength near ground levels cause disruptions of air and, more importantly, moisture circulation?

I like wind power and hope it will be deployed as fast as possible, and I also hope the grid is updated and maintained. Pickens is a practical money maker with a shrewd eye - he just misunderstands timelines.

Wind turbines are facing 1-2 year backorder periods, and he’s talking about installing 20-30 years of industry output even with growth. In 30 years, if large new domestic gas deposits are not brought to market, that 20% of natural gas will have been lost to depletion. In other words, his solution will just make up for natural gas depletion, not free it for use as transportation fuel.

We still should press on with it however.

DK

Wind depletion is a serious problem, and should definitely be taken into consideration when finalizing TBoones plan. We should look at more abundant sources of energy in our world, such as Internet. There is an endless supply of internet–in our homes, offices, even in your coffee shop. Once scientists develop a plan to turn this Internet into fuel, our crisis shall be no more.

Rick,
Wind power could be installed in a wind corridor that stretches from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. The system would be designed such that not all areas may be recieving wind all the time, but some of them would always be receiving wind. When and if the wind stops blowing there could be a transfer switch that automatically transfers to a backup natural gas generator that would supply electricity until there is more wind. This would drastically reduce, but not entirely replace natural gas electric generation.

T. Boone Pickens has the fortitude to spend his own money, step forward and speak directly to the American people about our energy crisis while our present executive administration is busy editing scientific research papers on climate change.

Yes he is doing this for a profit but he is also doing this to help the American economy. I believe in his plan. The numbers may not be exact but you can bet he has a team that has been researching the feasibility of his plan.

Mr. Pickens is taking action, I am eager to see the details of his plan over the next few weeks as he promised.

There seems to be a for real additive for gas and oil for the reduction of emissions, this is called ETHOS with a link of http://www.theGasSecret.com I believe this could be added to fuels and oil at production. The manufacturer states it will increase mileage of up to 25%. I do not have the numbers to give you the exact savings and the added aide to the environment. This in my way of thinking helps with two of our responsibility to our fellow Americans and the people of the world. WE AS A NATION MANDATED THAT THE FUEL PRODUCERS PRODUCE LEAD FREE FUELS AND THE AUTO MANUFACTORS PRODUCE VEHICLES TO BURN THESE LEAD FREE FUELS. The next step is to mandate that this type of additive be incorporated at the refiners. While I am on this there also is a system that can be added to any vehicles and connected thru the cars battery using a electrolyze process and use water that has been broken down to it’s components of HHO and the car burns in part hydrogen and the exhaust of this product is water. Use this link video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2238805429946487167.
In conclusion lets as Americans get back to doing what is needed to control of America’s own destiny

I hope President Obama listens to this man, T. Boone Pickens. He’s worth listening to because he is the first oil man to advocate something other than drilling for more oil to fix our gas price crisis. Shame on Bush and Cheney for all their greed-driven deceit and anything-for-business-profits policies that have bankrupted America.

Nuclear powered cars? I don’t think so. True, the navy does have reactor powered ships and subs but they also have nuclear physicists onboard. Can you imagine what would happen if you were to get into an accident in a car filled with uranium? I think I would name my car, “The dirty bomb”.

All these ideas have good points and bad points. Solar is great during the day on sunny days but that energy can’t be stored for night or cloudy days. Sugar Cane is basically the same as using corn, your still burning fuel which generates pollution. Wind is great when you have it, but there is no place in the world you can get wind everyday.

His plan is decent; I wouldn’t say it’s perfect. Until the technology to store and transmit power long distance is created, we should look at all of the options and implement nuclear power where it makes sense, put up wind turbines where there is wind, use solar to supplement power during the sunny days and rely natural gas during the evenings. Urge US auto makers to start mass producing hydrogen cars and the automakers can install hydrogen filling stations so not only do they get the profit from the sale of the car, they get some residual profit for it’s fuel. The foreign automakers would follow.

I would caution anyone, don’t think that one technology is the savior. Look at the holistic solution using the technology we have to reduce our reliance on oil and reduce our emissions.

How are we going to produce these massive wind powered systems? Oil. It will take oil to produce them, oil to transport them, and oil to repair them. We are never going to be able to sustain our consuption of oil with systems that will consume a large amount of oil themselves. The special alloys needed to make them will need oil. There is no way to get away from oil until we find something else that will allow us to produce these systems without it. We need to stop trying to figure out what will produce enough energy and focus completely on what will replace oil itself, if there is anything. We’re going to be in the dark with no food eventually so it doesn’t matter, but if we want a shot, alternative fuel is the way.

The sun is great, we have to explore that for obvious reasons, mainly because it is a continuous source of free energy. But as far as finding new ways to produce energy, it is futile. We have enough oil for another forty or fifty years and then what? Corn? Wind? Most likely not. With the way we drive our cars and transport everything, its unlikely that in that short of a time period we will find a way to live without oil. We waste oil every time a Nintendo Wii is shipped to a child in Indiana, when the oil could have been used to create the wind systems we have so much hope for. It’s depressing, but its life. We think that we can overcome obstacles that we created ourselves and we cannot. We are the result of evolution and we are no better than what we were created from. Humans will die off, whether or not its our fault does not matter, because it was going to happen. Let’s just be happy with the good run we had and try to make the best of the hard times that are right in front of us.

Dave.
I’ve heard this wind corridor idea proposed before but there are some obvious problems. What happens on the east side of the corridor if we begin consuming the wind on the west side. Of course, an unintended consequence could be the reduction in the number of windborn tornados. And worse, with a solid line of windmills north to south, couldn’t the wind just escape and divert around the extreme north and south ends of the coridoors, drastically increasing Mexico and Canada’s wind problems. This needs to be thought through more carefully.

Won’t somebody, please, think of the birds?

We should use whatever source we can- thermal, solar, wind, tidal, etc. There are many retiring baby boomers who have the skills necessary to attack this problem. Not all of us want to play endless golf, cards, or lay on beaches. Many would love to be productive, and get some issues cleared up for our grandchildren.

Why are we still relying on OPEC oil and poluting?

HE IS NOT GENIUS NOR FOOL . JUST A MAN WITH A PLAN THAT WILL WORK TO ELIMINATE SOME OF OUR OIL DEPENDENCE. THAT IS BETTER THAN ANYTHING OUR GOVERNMENT IS DOING.
BOONE IS A MAN OF ACTION AND LIKE MANY OF US HE IS TIRED OF THE POLITICS OF OIL. I HOPE HE MAKES A LOT OF MONEY FROM THIS. I LIVE IN THE ARIZONA DESERT AND WE SHOULD HAVE WIND FARMS ALL OVER THIS STATE. WE HAVE PLENTY OF WIND TO HARNESS AND CONVERT BUT LITTLE STATE MONEY TO FUND SUCH THINGS. WE CERTAINLY HAVE PLENTY OF SUNSHINE TO POWER WITH SOLAR BUT SAME CASH PROBLEMS.
I SAY GOOD LUCK TO HIM.

I am both skeptical and suspicious when an oil baron says he wants to advance the cause of alternative energy (for whatever reason). Most people don’t know that both Edison and Ford (no less) wanted to develop electric vehicles way back in 1912 (read the book “Internal Combustion” - by Edwin Black), but they were thwarted by both business conglomerates and consumers, who only wanted gasoline engines. Also the original Diesel engine was designed to work on bio-diesel (I.e. peanut oil, not petroleum based diesel), but the new oil barons didn’t like that, and made manufacturers change it to only work using the current form of oil-based diesel (want to guess why?). Also, Diesel ended up face down in a canal some short time later. So why should we trust the ‘usual suspects’ or any large corporation or entity that would like nothing better than to create a new monopoly and/or influence the government to help it do this (as Mr. Pickens is now trying to do with his new TV commercials, asking viewers to contact Congress members on his behalf).

Wind energy is just one piece of the puzzle. We will still need oil, natural gas, nuclear, biofuels, etc. to meet our ever-increasing energy demands, especially on a global basis when considering the burgeoning economies of India and China.

As a Civil Engineer bored with my job, but inspired by the future in alternative fuels/energy - Where can I send you my resume’? I’m so interested in alternative energy that I’ve taken it up as a hobby of sorts on the side, and turning this into a career would make me, well, one of those lucky few who land a career in something in which they actually have a passionate interest. Our country has overcome higher hurdles than this in the past, and it is time for us to join together and push for newer, cleaner, less expensive energy to continue enjoying the standard of living we have come to love here in our great country. There is not one single source of energy out there that will solve all of the current problems, but a widespread, sensible plan like that of Mr. Pickens is by far the best I’ve seen yet.

Recently there was an article about a company from Spain announcing plans to build these large windmills in Texas. This will bring economic profitablity to the local area, but why aren’t there American companies investing in our long term energy change? Has it gotten impossible for Americans to be ‘completely’ responsible for all aspects of a program? Green collar jobs are the one bright light for our manufacturing base. I am glad this discussion has started. In the ‘up front” planning of wind, solar and other alternatives Americans should get off their duffs and use their intellectual genius again to the advantage of their fellow Americans.

We have a fine infrastructure for moving natural gas around the country. As for uses for wind power when it is not needed how about making hydrogen and then combining the hydrogen with carbon dioxide to make methane. Just for your information utility natural gas is 90% methane. I think there will still be a market for biodiesel for the heavy lifters such as trucks, marine activities (boats), farm equipment and construction equipment. And if you have too much methane, then make the surplus into methanol for biodiesel.

You said it all when you said he has a plan. No one else in this country has ,including the people we pay in Washington to do this kind of work. I hope he does make some money with this because it will have to benefit the country . I don’t think it is a perfect plan but lets get started and refine it as we go. I don’t usually sign up for anything but I have for this because its the only game in town . And I think it would benefit this country and everyone living it it. For those who object to Pickens making some money I can only say we are all free in this country to make as much as we can and if you get off your butt and apply your self you can makes some to. I’ll bet Pickens would probally help you.

If the 30% Federal R&D tax break did not exist, Mr. Pickens would not be doing this. I remember in the mid Eighties when Wind Power projects enjoyed a healthy tax break. When the tax deduction was removed, people couldn’t dump their wind companies fast enough. Suppliers got stuck with huge bills as wind entreprenuers creatively bunkrupted their companies. I was part of that.
There are a lot of technical reasons why wind power doesn’t look good as a major part of the national grid: Reliability, transmission, environmental impact, and high cost and maintenance, are a few.
Mr. Pickens has an army of sharp advisers, so is aware of these issues. If he is in this for the long haul and not just to make a quick buck, I wish him all the best.

I strongly support oil independence for America. However, natural gas is not going to be the eventual answer, it is a start, but it will not be able to replace gasoline. Biodiesel made from the membranes of microorganisms, more specifically the cyanobacterium Anabaena, which are primary phototrophs that form heterocysts allowing it to use nitrogen from the air. These microorganisms can be genetically modified to secrete organic compounds that can also be useful for the extraction step necessary to remove the hydrophobic lipids from the proteins and DNA. Because the growth rate of these bacteria is so high, 1 hour doubling time with optimum nutrition, this becomes more feasible in the large scale. Biodiesel combined with hybrid electric engine technology will be what finally frees us from this terrible dependence on foreign oil.

Wind depletion? Wind depletion? You idiots raising that as a concern obviously have no clue what percentage of kinetic energy of the wind is actually transferred to the wind turbine and converted into mechanical and then to electrical energy. I suspect it’s somewhere in the neighborhood of .000000000000000000000000000000001 percent.

Go back to grade school.

Using natural gas to generate electricity is very efficient. Using it to power an automobile isn’t. There’s always going to be some waste. No energy conversion is perfect -it’s The Law (of Thermodynamics). But his idea has us swapping a technology that is 60% efficient (gas powered co-generation power plants) for one that is about 20% efficient (natural gas powered automobiles. Why not build the wind turbines, keep the power plants and switch to plug in hybrids that can run for the first 20 miles on battery power? Most people don’t drive more than 30 miles a day. A 40 MPG plug in hybrid would use a gallon of gas every 4 days. An 8 gallon fuel tank would give you an almost 350 mile range and an average driver (12k miles per year) would need about 110 gallons of gas per year. You would also spend something like $250/yr for the electricity to travel those first 20 daily miles. Even if gasoline stays at $4 per gallon, the cost to fuel/power a car drops to something like $700/year. It would cost almost $2,000 to travel the same distance in a normal 25 MPG car.

From the same dignity-less slimball who bankrolled the Swiftboat Cowards for Lies, comes a $70 Million dollar campaign to convince you to help him make more money.

I reject this idea on source alone. If he thinks it’s smart, it’s got to be a nightmare for the American consumer…. that’s how he got all that money in the first place.

Unfortunately his plan isn’t about bringing wind energy or solar energy to the market because it won’t make him enough money. What they are failing to mention is that along his powerline he plans on putting in from the panhandle to Dallas/Ft. Worth is a water pipeline. He has called water the next black gold. What he wants to do is sell water from the Ogallala Aquifer to the large cities in Texas. That aquifer is the only supply of water people in the panhandle and in 3 or 4 other states have. He doesn’t care if he dries up the aquifer because he will be laughing all the way to the bank.

You guys should really look into this to see what his real plans are and he is going to us eminent domain to get his plan rolling. Nobody wants to sell him their land for the easement or so he can get more water rights so he is going to use eminent domain to make sure he loads his pockets full. T. Boone is not liked at all up in the Texas panhandle.

Great to see someone in the private sector stand up to the plate. Like he says, it’s a partial plan and it’s a good start…….

Let’s get more of the private sector involved- we don’t need politicians- they are useless….

Bob

If you want to be serious about a long-term energy solution, you have to go after the internal combustion engine as we know it. As long as our means of transportation is less than 30% efficient, no power source is going to remain sufficient for long. Electric transportation is nearly three times as efficient as internal combustion, so it’s a win even after we allow for the deficiencies of the power grid.

The power grid’s been overdue for an overhaul for about 20 years, so the cost of that upgrade is just something that has to be paid if we don’t want to regress to third-world status, so no whining on that.

Lastly, there’s a huge efficiency improvement nobody seems to be talking about in geo-exchange environment management systems, which can halve the amount of energy consumed to heat and cool buildings. Not only does this offer huge energy savings, its adoption would entail a huge amount of retrofit work, an investment in the US economy that would be guaranteed to yield a payback, a double-win scenario.

Wind can be an important contributor to our national energy budget, but fixing our egregious inefficiency would correct the supply/demand imbalance in the energy markets in a more durable way. Pickens is still hedging for a solution he can make a killing on, and we should never forget that about him.

We need to develop alternative sources of energy and the Pickens Plan could be the start of a national program to do just that. We should have started developing other sources of energy after being manhandled by OPEC in the 1970s.

Wind won’t do everything, but we have to start somewhere. The big wind turbines can kill migrating birds, Monarch butterflies, etc. and solutions must be developed to prevent the decimation of our natural wildlife by the wind turbines and transmission lines while providing green energy.

Drilling in ANWR or in costal waters just give BIG OIL more barrels to sell overseas…to China, India, etc. and does not increase the supply or oil for customers in the U.S.A. Current policy/law allows this and capitalism encourages BIG OIL to sell to the highest bidder, not the poor working folks here at home.

Sorry Gene, you are off by about 9 zeros according to Dr. Leonard Suznik, the Danish Aerobotanist. You are correct that one turbine consumes a small amount of our world’s wind supply, but multiply that by thousands of turbines in that “coridoor” and millions of operational hours and we could be looking at a very still, windless summer. On top of global warming! Perhaps TBoone, being the capitalist that he is, is investing heavily in fans. The oil is nearly gone, let’s not use up our wind supply as well.

1) American oil for lubricants, asphalt, plastics, ect, ect

2) Nuclear for home and business power (a more constant energy source then wind)

3) Wind for electrolysis to make hydrogen to fuel our automobiles

Boone Picken’s track record is great for mystifying retoric, but not good in terms of results. A few years ago he was bringing water from the Pandhandle to the Metroplex. I wonder how many people invested in that venture and have gotten rich? Now it’s wind. I like Mr. Pickens a great deal the few times I met him, but he reminds me too much of Professor Harold Hill in The Music Man who always went where the people were as green as the money. Great comment to the librarian’s little son when Hill got exposed, “I always think there’s a band, kid.”

When will we get this straight, were going to allow one of the biggset individual oil raiders to control the electricity too…..dang lets try CO-OP power that the whole bunch of us benefit from……..

A wind mill owner once said.. For the first five years she turned for the bank, now she turns for me. Mr. Pickens has the long view that he will make a great deal of money, and as much as the wind blows in rural TX and OK, I bet he will. At the same time, he helps the economy with new jobs and manufacturing, and puts a few billion MWHrs into the gird. Shame our politcal leaders do not have a clue on what to do.

He is doing the right thing, but I would like to see him add some solar thermal capacity for calm, sunny days; even for windy, sunny days.

Wind driven energy would be a good way to use some of
that BLM land that sits there just driving up the value of
private land beyond any practical use. We need to get BLM lands
freed up for solar and other energy uses too. I can buy into it!

It’s a plan. And i believe someone out there will think of a way to stop our dependance on overseas oil. There is a way. Americans for the most part have gotten lazy. We just set back and grip. We do nothing to try to come up with a way. For the most part I think about 80 to 90% of Americans are “couch potatoes” so to speak. Just sitting back and watch the world go around.

Here’s the real skinny. We used to walk more often. We used to live close to where we work. We used to commute more. We used to bring our lunches to work. We used to eat at home every night.

Our McCulture is our downfall. We need to be more patient. The advent of cell phones, pagers, the Internet, cable TV, all of it, is what is making this a more difficult “I WANT IT NOW” country.

Travel to Ireland, Germany, Scotland, places that have beem around for centuries and have fallen and risen again. They have it right. Travel to really cold clmates, like Denmark or Finland….they know you live close to where you work.

Why must some individual drive a large SUV, have no one to commute with, drive 25 miles each way to work and then bitch and moan about gas prices? Of course they’re drinking their $5 Starbucks coffee and yapping on their phone.

That’s the culprit.

DO THE MATH, PEOPLE.

You would need 73,000 wind turbines to produce HALF as much power as the gas-fired power plants in the United States.

Phase I of Pickens’ Pampa Wind Project will have 667 wind turbines.
Hey, it’s a start.

Before we cover the Great Plains with many tens of thousands of wind turbines, wouldn’t it be prudent to do an environmental impact study on wildlife and weather patterns?

All other energy sources have to jump through environmental hoops. Wind should not get a free pass.

Rick, Ok, I took 9 zero’s off. So it’s only .000000000000000000000001 percent. Big whoop.

I hear people complaining about the wind not blowing all the time, too much noise, too far to transmit. The area that has the best wind around is a strip that goes from Texas to Minnesota. So, who thinks that all the wind in that huge area will stop all at once? Conditions will vary, but this is really good.

This past weekend I drove past a windmill (one of the huge 3 prop turbines) on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, I rolled down my window and could not hear the windmill.

Many of the thoughts on solar are good. What about Nevada where the government owns about 80 % of the state. Lord knows that desert land could be used for something productive.

I also like the geothermal proposals.

All of these ideas need to be funded and investigated in a short period of time, a sense of urgency.

I don’t agree with opening additional areas for drilling. That is like pulling money out of your 401k to pay your monthly bills. It does not make sense. Believe it or not, there is a finite amount of oil out there.

The point is there are many possibilities out there, but we have to try things, that is how we learn, get better and make new discoveries.

We have got to modify our behavior, if not for us, for our grand children.

The primary reason for no energy policy from our ‘beloved’ government is because too many people would lose money. Better gas mileage for vehicles manufactured in the US? Forget it. Hurts Big Three Profits. More nuclear power? Forget it. Oil, coal, and gas companies would lose profits. Wind power? Maybe, but the tree huggers are more worried about migratory bird routes.
But maybe the biggest culprits are the American people who expect returns on investments from their stocks, 401Ks, and funds that invest heavily in energy. As long as investors require, no demand is a better word, that they get their precious little dividends, no huge investment in self-reliance is going to take place.
Sure, T. Boone Pickens smells bucks in this - but at least he is presenting an alternative to the gridlock in Washington. Our Congress is a mess. An effective energy policy? Forget it. Lobbyists have already taken care of that.

Wind power is happening right now, with or without the legendary investor. At a reunion of my in-laws who live on the plains of Colorado a few weeks ago, they said a company was making investments in wind power, leasing up farmland, and the only catch was that the company wanted 20,000 acres in one vicinity, before they would ink a deal. I guess 20,000 acres is to justify the expense of the transmission or maintenance infrastructure. They are about 50 miles from the nearest city.

“We should build an enhanced national power grid that would allow wind and solar generated electricity to be transported to all areas of the nation.”

I disagree, Mr. Roark.

With the recent Great Lakes Water Compact assuring that the fresh water from the Great Lakes will NOT be piped outside that region, it is only fair to keep any electricity from wind and solar generation in the states which produce it.

Let the electricity rates in Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, and the other states best suited to capture electric be reduced with the upcoming burgeoning supply, and do NOT allow this power to be transmitted to the Great Lakes region.

Thanks for setting the precedent, midwesterners! Now it’s about time you began paying the piper for using the gas and oil produced in the southwest and gulf coast states during the past several decades.

The south NEVER should have allowed you to have any of it to begin with. You selfish pigs!

It is astounding to me that a man presumed to be as learned as Pickens, with the resources available to him to research the issue, makes no mention of solar power. I live in the southwest, where, as it turns out, DOE currently has a research initiative going to develop and sustain more solar power. Solar does not suffer the shortcomings associated with wind, and at first cut, seems to project as no more expensive than wind. One has to wonder why Mr. Pickens is not touting the potential of solar power, given the promise of the newest generation of solar cells and collectors.

Actually there is a terrific way to store MEGAWATTS of power.
During the day time, use the wind power to pump water up to a large water tank. (like a lake) from a lower water source (like the ocean). then when you need power, just let the water run down hill, and use hydroelectric.

I’m all for solar and wind and I like the fact that someone has a plan. But like in the article there are significant limitations to solar and wind. One it is extremely location specific and when it’s cloudy or when there is minimal wind there is no electricity, so then what. Listen we all want to keep our money as fast as possible. So what I think Mr. Pickens should be looking into is helping a revolutionary energy company in New Jersey called BlackLight Power, Inc. He should be helping to accelerate it’s revolutionary alternative non-nuclear, non polluting, and cheap energy producing source to all the power companies asap!

At last someone has nailed down the real problem and has a plan to get us going in the direction we need to go.

most of these ideas have been tried on the simpsons. the only real economical power producing ideas are from dams, wind turbines, and nuclear power, all of which are limitless. Nuclear last a reallly really long time, wind has been here for almost 4 billion years. If you have ever been to Germany near the french border there are thousands of wind turbines there generating power for millions. everyone here is worried about birds dying by running in to them well if that bird is that stupid to run in to a GIANT fan then too bad. Put a wind turbine in each neighborhood and see how low the power goes, i bet that if that was to happen that the power costs would go way down, you would still need traditional power generation plants but there are ways to back feed the wind turbine power back in to the grid and vice versa.

Does someone think that these wind turbines take the wind away and make it non existant what a tard. This is the most profitable idea ever. THere is a man in east texas that put one up in his front yard for 10000 and in about three years he earned his money back and has been feeding it back to the grid, the power company pays him for his power. see how good of an idea it is. Its not an eye sore people ” i dont want a windmill in my back yard” get over yourself you will be saving thousands of dollars on energy usage by doing this so you can get yoru nails done. Get with the program

We seem to know that Congress is no longer up to the task of fixing problems but, we seem to fail an understanding - why. I’m wondering if perhaps the right questions are not being asked of the right people? For example, it is far more normal today to hear from a left-leaning or right-leaning organization. Isn’t there anyway possible that Congress could fund some independent group of economists where the result is presented with a single voice?

I would just like some basic questions answered. And, where relevant, I would like those answers to be taught to our children in school. For example:
1) What is the life-expectancy of each energy source?
2) What is the percentage of those life expectancies as compared to the expected life of humanity on Earth?
3) If we were to move more rapidly to energy sources with longer life-expectancies how would that affect the human condition and perhaps human life-expectancies if any difference?
4) Who benefits financially from not moving more rapidly to energy sources with longer life-expectancies?
5) Mathematically, how relevant are existing energy sources? Are they simply round-off errors?
6) If we extract all oil, natural gas, coal and whatever else that can be extracted and burn it, how will that affect the natural processes of the Earth?
7) If building codes were changed so that every new home was required to be a zero-energy home, how much would the total price differential be over similar sized homes of today?
Who benefits by not moving to zero-energy homes and why is it beneficial to everyone?

As far T. Boone is concerned, it’s great that he’s found a way to make money on Wind. But, the natural gas thing is a non-starter for me. It’s still extracting and burning on a massive scale over a short period of time. Whether this is good, bad or indifferent I haven’t a clue. And, answers from Congress are not united in one voice.

In the old days, the media used to dig into this stuff. Now the media seems to care more about the dominance of online talk radio and whether Britney Spears has her pants on or off. You need to stop and smell the roses!

There is a collective Deep Throat out there that will destroy “extract and burn” in its tracks. There is a collective Deep Throat out there that will destroy the myth of carbon-trading. There is a collective Deep Throat out there that will, probably, destroy biofuels as well. We just have no media willing to step up to the plate and dig deep enough to hit the Pulitzer Prize of the 21st Century.

As one of the pre-eminent oilmen on this planet, I think that whether or not his plan is the “answer” or not, he’s signaling that oil’s run is coming to an end and we’d better figure out some answers for it’s replacement. Without readily accessible energy human civilization as we know it ceases to exist.