Pickens Plan

The Pickens Plan is an energy policy proposal announced July 8, 2008 by American businessman T. Boone Pickens. Pickens' stated intention is to reduce American dependency on imported oil by investing approximately US$1 trillion in new wind turbine farms for power generation, which he claims would allow the natural gas currently used for power generation to be shifted to fuel trucks, buses and automobiles. Pickens claims that his plan could reduce by $300 billion (43%) the amount the country spends annually on foreign oil.cite news
author = Andy Vuong
title = "Tycoon's plan taps wind"
url = http://www.denverpost.com/rapids/ci_9845133 Tycoon's plan taps wind
publisher = "Denver Post"
date = 2008-07-11
accessdate = 2008-08-08 ] Though the plan has received broad public support, several important technical issues and some questions over Pickens' true motives have been raised.

Proposal

The main proposals of the plan are:cite news
author = Staff
title = "Pickens backs renewable energy plan"
url = http://albany.bizjournals.com/albany/othercities/sanantonio/stories/2008/07/07/daily13.html
publisher = "San Antonio Business Journal"
date = 2008-07-13
accessdate = 2008-07-08 ]
# Private industry would fund the installation of thousands of wind turbines in the Great Plains, which Pickens refers to as the potential "wind corridor" of the United States due to favorable wind resources and geographic location. Pickens estimates that these turbines could generate enough power to provide 20 percent or more of the country's electricity supply.
# Although the wind turbines would be built with private investment, all electricity users would pay for electric power transmission lines to connect the turbines to the power grid. They would provide energy to the Midwest, South and Western regions of the country.
# With wind energy providing a large portion of the nation's electricity, the natural gas that is currently used to fuel power plants could be used instead as a fuel for thousands of vehicles. To increase efficiency, the plan puts an emphasis on natural gas-burning fleets of trucks and buses. [cite book
last = Pickens
first = Boone
authorlink = T. Boone Pickens
title = The First Billion is the Hardest
publisher = Crown
year = 2008
pages = pp 194-95
isbn = 9780307395771 ] Thus, the demand for petroleum products made from imported oil would be reduced.

Timetable

Pickens thinks his plan that would provide 22% of electricity from wind power and the conversion for vehicles from gasoline to gas could be accomplished in less than 10 years with the "right leadership".cite web
url=http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/Jul/10/pickens-imports-must-be-cut/
title= Pickens promotes wind, gas at energy forum Billionaire Texan says U.S. could cut imports 38%
author=Jeff Smith
publisher=Rocky Mountain News
date=2008-07-10
accessdate=2008-10-04] However, according to Chuck McGowin, senior project manager at the Electric Power Research Institute in Palo Alto, the time table is too tight.cite web
url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/01/MNO512K43O.DTL&type=printable
title=Experts wary of Pickens' clean-energy plan
publisher=San Francisco Chronicle
author=David R. Baker
date=2008-09-01
accessdate=2008-10-04] Dave Hamilton, director for global warming and energy projects at the Sierra Club agrees "That is extremely aggressive ... But it's in the right direction. It's a good thing we have an oilman saying we can't drill our way out of this problem."cite web
url=http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/22/news/economy/pickens_wind/index.htm
title=Wind power: A reality check
author=Steve Hargreaves
publisher=CNNMoney
date=2008-07-31
accessdate=2008-10-05] At the other extreme, former U.S. vice president and Nobel Prize winner Al Gore said that all electricity generation should be completely fossil-fuel free in the same 10 years.

Effects on the environment

By shifting a percentage of electricity production from natural gas combustion to carbon neutral wind generation, Pickens' plan could significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Although vehicles using natural gas would still produce co2, they would produce about 25% less than those using gasoline.cite web
url=http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/vehicles/natural_gas_emissions.html
title=Natural Gas Vehicle Emissions
publisher=Alternative Fuels and Alternative Vehicles Center, U.S. Dept. of Energy
author=
date=
accessdate=2008-10-07] Combustion of gasoline also produces much larger amounts of nitrogen oxides (NOx, which cause smog) and other air pollutants than combustion of natural gas. The Institute for Energy Research, a foundation critical of Pickens' Plan, contends that the environmental advantages of wind farms are greatly overstated, and their adverse impacts are significant. [cite web
url=http://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/2008/09/26/financial-incentives-behind-the-pickens-plan/
title=The Financial Incentives Behind the Pickens Plan
publisher=Institute for Energy Research
author=
date=
accessdate=2008-10-07]

Pickens Plan vs. Gore's Global Warning

Both T. Boone Pickens and former Vice President and Nobel Prize winner Al Gore want the same thing - to lessen the dependence on fossil fuels. Pickens specifically wants to see less dependence on foreign fuel and burn domestic fossil fuels instead and Gore wants to eliminate the burning of fossil fuels altogether to stop global warming. Both share an understanding of the problem ahead and want to solve it. [cite web
url=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/371924_means24.html
title=Al Gore, T. Boone Pickens are unlikely allies
publisher=Seattle Post-Intelligencer
author=Marianne Means
date=2008-07-23
accessdate=2008-10-06]

Technical hurdles

Power generation and transmission lines

Pickens says that his plan could generate enough wind power to provide 22 percent of the country's electricity. The Institute for Energy Research (IER), an organization that advocates off-shore drilling [cite web
url=http://www.forbes.com/business/2008/09/10/energy-oil-drilling-biz-beltway-cx_bw_0911gang.html
title=Election-Year Energy
publisher=Forbes
date=2008-09-10
accessdate=2008-10-04] and is "funded by the oil industry" [cite web
url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/13/AR2008091302428.html
title=Offshore Drilling Is Coming to a Vote
publisher=Washington Post
date=2008-09-13
accessdate=2008-10-04] disagrees. The IER claims that Pickens' plan relies on government subsidies and that producing large amounts of wind power is not a viable option. Instead, the IER advocates "less government for more abundant and affordable energy."cite web
url= http://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/2008/07/11/pickens-plan-leaves-us-energy-security-blowing-in-the-wind/
title= Picken's plan leaves U.S. energy security blowing in the wind
accessdate= 2008-08-08
author= Rob Bradley
date= 2008-07-10
publisher= Institute for Energy Research]

Pickens acknowledges that natural gas would still be required for peak electricity demand and additional infrastructure would be needed to distribute the wind energy across the country One of the big challenges with using wind to replace natural gas is that the wind doesn't blow all the time. But Sierra Club's Dan Becker, director of the Sierra Club's energy program, does not believe it is a major issue. He said that technological advances will allow several wind farms from varying regions of the country to be tied together in the same electricity grid. When some are idle, others could make up the difference. To help make sure enough power is available when the wind isn't blowing, backup power plants would be needed, said Paul Fremont, an electric-utility analyst at the investment bank Jefferies & Co. Natural gas plants can quickly be brought online during periods of low wind. Additionally, storing excess wind electricity by pumping water uphill when the wind is blowing, then releasing it through hydro dams when the electricity is needed, can be a source of backup energy. TVA's Raccoon Mountain Pumped-Storage Plant near Chattanooga, TN is just one example of many such installations that already exist in the US.

New transmission lines, worth $64 billion to $128 billion, would be needed to carry the power from the windmills to the cities.cite web
url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/01/MNO512K43O.DTL&tsp=1
title=Experts wary of Pickens' clean-energy plan
publisher=San Francisco Chronicle
author=David R. Baker
date=2008-09-01
accessdate=2008-10=04] Pickens testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee and said the government should begin building transmission lines for wind-generated power in the same way that President Eisenhower by declaring an emergency to build the interstate highway system in the 1950s and 1960s. As an alternative, Pickens proposed that the government should provide the right of way on private land and extend tax credits so the private sector can build the lines. [cite web
url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/07/22/tech/main4284589.shtml
title=Texas Oilman: Clear Path For Wind Power
publisher=CBS news
date=2008-07-22
accessdate=2008-10-04] Kenneth Medlock III, an energy fellow at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy and a critic of Pickens' Plan, said "A lot of what he's trying to do is add value to a stranded asset" [cite web
url=http://www.upi.com/Business_News/2008/08/07/Critics_Profit_drives_Pickens_energy_plan/UPI-93661218119366/
title=Critics: Profit drives Pickens energy plan
publisher=UPI
author=
date=2008-08-07
acccessdate=2008-10-04]

Making the transition

Pickens' Plan proposes that the natural gas that is currently used to fuel power plants could be used instead as a fuel for thousands of vehicles. Ken Medlock says that the US will continue to use natural gas for electric power generation. Natural gas burns cleaner than coal, making it an increasingly popular fuel for power plants. Gas plants also produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

The technology needed for Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles such as City buses, fork lifts and passenger cars with CNG drivetrains is available right now. Honda sells the Civic GX, with a 170-mile range. In addition, it is possible to convert vehicles to run on CNG in addition to leaving the conventional fuel injection intact, allowing the driver to switch back and forth at will. Kits are available for the do-it-yourselfer. One can buy a CNG compressor called Phill that hooks up to the city natural gas line making it possible to refuel a CNG car at home. [cite web
url=http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/earth/4282954.html
title=Pickens Overlooks Existing Natural Gas Cars in Energy Plan: Reality Check
publisher=Popular Mechanics
author=Mike Allen
date=2008-09-15
accessdate=2008-10-04] On the other hand, the IER believes that natural gas vehicles are "a niche product." Patricia Monahan, believes "It's going to be a big price tag" to switch to CNG vehicles. Monahan considers CNG an excellent fuel for running small fleets of vehicles, such as buses and garbage trucks.

Peak gas

The use of natural gas is a key component to Picken's proposal. There are concerns however that gas production may soon reach its maximum production rate, a point in time known as peak gas. After this time, the rate of production enters a terminal decline. Peak gas has already been confirmed by Exxon's CEO Lee Raymond. In 2005 he said to Reuters that "Gas production has peaked in North America." [cite web
url=http://www.reuters.com/article/Utilities/idUSN2163310420050621
title=Exxon says N. America gas production has peaked
publisher=Reuters
author=
date=2005-06-21
accessdate=2008-10-04] The Reuters article continues to say "While the number of U.S. rigs drilling for natural gas has climbed about 20 percent over the last year and prices are at record highs, producers have been struggling to raise output."

Brent P. Nelson, a top scientist at the Department of Energy assessed the Pickens Plan. Among his findings is that he sees a coming peak gas crisis that could be as dire and economically burdensome for the nation as the peak oil crisis the U.S. is passing through right now.Fact|date=October 2008 Nelson, notes that "we’ve already used around one half of our domestic gas". He sees the future of transportation coming from electric vehicles and sees the dwindling natural gas supplies as too precious to be squandered on electricity generation or transportation: “Natural gas, as a space-heating fuel, has almost no alternatives.”

Dependence on foreign fuels

Pickens estimates that his plan would cut oil imports by 38 percent. Patricia Monahan, deputy director of the clean vehicles program at the Union of Concerned Scientists thinks differently. She questions the wisdom of trying to replace large amounts of imported oil with another fossil fuel, especially considering that the United States already has to import 19 percent of the natural gas it uses.

No mention of plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles

To some, this plan seems to ignore one of the most fruitful paths to cut into America’s foreign oil addiction: plug-in hybrids and fully electric vehicles. Wind generated electricity could directly fuel America’s ever-more electrified transport sector. Some hybrid owners argue the part that using compressed natural gas as a transportation fuel does not make sense especially when the new wave of electric and hybrid-electric vehicles that are expected to hit the market in the coming years. [cite web
url=http://www.hybridcars.com/news/pickens-plan-promotes-compressed-natural-gas-vehicles-25022.html
title=Pickens Plan Promotes Compressed Natural Gas Vehicles
publisher=Hybrid Cars
author=
date=2008-09-17
accessdate=2008-10-07] The US government is already promoting the adoption of PHEVs and EVs. The $700 billion bailout bill signed by President Bush in 2008 includes tax credits up to $7,500 for US buyers of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. [cite web
url=http://www.hybridcars.com/incentives-laws/congress-throws-cash-plug-hybrids-25093.html
title=Congress Throws Cash At Plug-In Hybrids
publisher=Hybrid Cars
author=
date=2008-10-04
accessdate=2008-10-07] Pickens does not believe that all electric vehicles are viable, especially trucks. He says "the battery won't move an eighteen wheeler" [cite web
url=http://fora.tv/2008/09/22/T_Boon_Pickens_Disagrees_with_Al_Gore_on_Energy
title=T. Boone Pickens Disagrees with Al Gore on Energy]

Pickens' motive

The CATO Institute, a libertarian think tank, says that the Pickens Plan amounts to market rigging in favor of his business interests and would raise energy costs for consumers. The institute believes the best energy plan is to remove all energy subsidies and let market forces decide. [cite web
url=http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=9613
title=Pickens' Plan to Rig the Market
publisher=Cato Institute
author=Jerry Taylor
date=2008-08-19
accessdate=2008-10-07] [cite web
url=http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=9575
title=Energy Plan Ads Just a Bunch of Wind?
publisher=Cato Institute
author=Will Wilkinson
date=2008-07-31
accessdate=2008-10-07] cite web
url= http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=9558
title= T. Boone Hard-Wired for Subsidies
accessdate= 2008-08-08
author= Jerry Taylor
date= 2008-07-24
publisher= Cato Institute] However, Pickens insists his interest is more in the country's future, than his personal wealth. [cite web
url=http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/michigan/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1379470&sectionID=756
title=Pickens Plan
author=Steve Carmody
publisher=Public Broadcasting
date=2008-10-01
accessdate=2008-10-04]

According to an article in "Popular Mechanics", if the plan is accepted, Pickens stands to reap a significant profit by building pipelines to pump billions of gallons of water from an aquifer under land in the Texas Panhandle, for which he controls the water rights. The proposed pipeline could follow the same 250-mile corridor as the electric transmission lines from the wind farm, which would be seized for utility use from private owners through eminent domain.cite news
author = Michael Milstein
title = "Beyond Wind Plan, Pickens Eyes Pipelines in Drought-Ridden U.S. Popular Mechanics"
url = http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/earth/4275059.html
publisher = "Popular Mechanics"
date = 2008-07-25
accessdate = 2008-08-08 ] Pickens owns more water than anyone else in the U.S.cite news
author = Susan Berfield
title = "There will be water"
url = http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_25/b4089040017753.htm
publisher = "Business Week"
date = 2008-06-12
accessdate = 2008-08-08 ] However, Pickens claims he has no need for the money,cite news
author = Dan Reed
title = "Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens wants to supplant oil with wind"
url = http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2008-07-08-t-boone-pickens-plan-wind-energy_N.htm
publisher = "USA Today"
date = 2008-07-11
accessdate = 2008-08-08 ] and that Texas law provides alternative ways for public water supply districts (such as the one formed by Pickens [http://www.robertscountyfwsd.com/ Retrieved 2008-09-14.] ) to obtain pipeline right-of-ways.

In mid September 2008, it was reported that Pickens had suspended the water pipeline plan. Jay Rosser, a spokesman for Pickens, claimed there was no immediate buyer for the water and Pickens was more interested in focusing on the power transmission lines.Fact|date=October 2008 Rosser also claimed that "this has nothing to do with a Department of Justice ruling in August on the Roberts County Fresh Water Supply district".

upport campaigns

Pickens anounced that he would spend $58 million on a multi-media effort to promote the Pickens Plan, not only through old media (such as newspapers and television), but also by using new media (including YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter),cite news
author = Adam Schreck
title = "Pickens backs renewable energy plan"
publisher = "Business Week"
date = 2008-07-08
accessdate = 2008-07-08 ] and the creation of a new social network on the Pickens Plan website (powered by Ning).cite news
author = Tom Weber
title = "T. Boone Pickens, Facebook Guy? ‘Pickens Plan’ Taps Social Networking"
url = http://blogs.wsj.com/buzzwatch/2008/07/08/t-boone-pickens-facebook-guy-pickens-plan-taps-social-networking/?mod=googlenews_wsj
publisher = "Wall Street Journal"
date = 2008-07-08
accessdate = 2008-08-08 ] As part of this effort, Pickens has appeared on "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer", ABC's "Good Morning America", the "CBS Evening News", CNN, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Lou Dobbs Tonight, Larry King Live [cite web
url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0808/04/lkl.01.html
title=Larry King Live - Transcript of The Energy Crisis
publisher=CNN
date=2008-08-04
accessdate=2008-10-07] , MSNBC's Race for the White House [cite web
url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27069149/
title=Race for the White House - Transcript, October 6, 2008
publisher=MSNBC
date=2008-10-06
accessdate=2008-10-07] , and Fox News.cite news
author = Allison Fass
title = "Pickens Goes For The Grass Roots"
url = http://www.forbes.com/technology/2008/07/11/pickensplan-wind-energy-tech-science-cz_af_0710pickens.html
publisher = "Forbes"
date = 2008-07-11
accessdate = 2008-08-08 ] Pickens' efforts are further supported by his spokesperson Jay Rosser and political ad firm Joe Slade White & Co.

To raise political support, Pickens planned to organize supporters by Congressional districts He has also met with the main party candidates for the 2008 United States Presidential election to discuss his plan. He met with Barack Obama on August, 17, 2008,cite web
url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-08-17-obama-pickens_N.htm
title=Obama discusses energy issues with Pickens
publisher=USA Today
accessdate=2008-08-17
date=2008-08-17
last=
first=] and with John McCain on August 15, 2008.cite web
url=http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/08/15/politics/fromtheroad/entry4352927.shtml
title=McCain Meets With T. Boone Pickens, Dodges Question About Anti-Obama Book
publisher=CBS News
accessdate=2008-08-17
last=Corsaro
first=Ryan ]

Endorsements

Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club, has expressed support for the Pickens Plan and stated "“To put it plainly, T. Boone Pickens is out to save America”". [cite web
url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20080725-9999-1n25pickens.html
title=Pickens pitches plans to shift U.S. away from oil
publisher=Union-Tribune
author=Dean Calbreath
date=2008-07-25
accessdate=2008-10-07] Former Clinton Chief of Staff and current president of the Center for American Progress John Podesta supports the plan. [cite web
url=http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/08/27/politics/horserace/entry4390453.shtml
title=T. Boone Pickens Predicts $200 A Barrel Oil
publisher=CBS News
author=Scott Conroy
date=2008-08-27
accessdate=2008-10-07] Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama has also stated he supports many elements of the plan. [cite web
url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,407221,00.html
title=Obama Praises Republican Oil Tycoon T. Boone Pickens
publisher=Fox News
author=Neil Cavuto
date=2008-08-20
accessdate=2008-10-07]

ee also

*Compressed natural gas
*Energy use in the United States
*Nolan County, Texas
*Pampa Wind Project
*Peak gas
*Wind power
*Wind power in Texas
*Wind power in the United States

References

External links

* [http://www.pickensplan.com Pickens Plan]