T. Boone Pickens scraps wind farm for now
Filed under: Energy, Company News, People
T. Boone Pickens is not a modest man. Then again, the self-made billionaire has earned the right to brag a little even though his ego was bruised today by the high-profile flop of his $8 billion wind energy project in his native Texas. Pickens, 81, was undaunted declaring at press conference on Capitol Hill, "I didn't cancel it ...Financing is tough right now and so it's going to be delayed a year or two.""Cancel" may not be the right word. How about review? Pickens, who gained fame as a corporate raider in the 1980s, was planning to build the world's largest wind facility, at a site in the windy, flatlands near Pampa, Texas, which would generate enough electricity to power about 1.2 million homes.
He also placed a huge order for more than 660 turbines with General Electric (GE). A GE spokesman had no immediate commentBut times have changed since the Pickens Wind Farm was first unveiled in 2007.
The sky-high oil prices which made the Pickens project look viable came crashing down to earth and credit markets dried up. Moreover, Pickens encountered technical problems he had not expected, according to Ken Starcher, associate director for the Alternative Energy Institute at West Texas A&M University.
"It was hammered by circumstances that were outside his control," Starcher said in an interview with DailyFinance. "He had a real good idea."'
Pickens has advocated greater use of natural-powered vehicles for years though critics have argued that the oilman's interest in that particular alternative fuel was motivated by self-interest.
In the press conference, Pickens said he remains committed to wind power in the U.S. and Canada. Wind energy is a key part of the Pickens Plan, the tycoon's program to end U.S. dependence on foreign oil. It calls for building new wind generation facilities that will produce 20 percent of our nation's electricity within 10 years.
Just how viable wind energy will be if oil prices remain relatively low remains to be seen. Many solar energy companies and wind power companies are struggling.
"You've got an industry that is kind of hanging on by its fingernails," said Denise Bode, chief executive of the American Wind Energy Association, in an interview with Reuters.
Another problem was logistical. Pickens needed to spend about $2 billion building a new transmission line to connect the wind farm with the two electricity grids that operate in Texas. This has the potential to create delays which would be intolerable.
"You don't want a wind farm sitting there for two years," Starcher said.
Pickens should be able to make a profit on the turbines though it won't be nearly as great of a return had he been able to build the plants.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-08-2009 @ 5:53PM
Ruby Bolaria said...
Sounds like Boone Pickens is saying at least part of the reason he's bailing out of his wind farm plans in Texas has to do with lack of transmission capacity. This is related to what Earthjustice is saying in the lawsuit filed yesterday challenging the Bush administration's energy corridors. This lawsuit was filed because the Bush designated corridors tend to service coal, not wind or solar. The energy corridors designate where power lines and towers should be placed, as well as pipelines.
See http://www.earthjustice.org/news/press/2009/coal-friendly-bush-energy-corridor-plan-challenged.html
The Bush energy corridors we're challenging are designated in eleven western states that don't include Texas. However if the Bush energy corridors are allowed to stand and not modified, we might see other potential wind energy investors come to the same conclusion as Pickens.
Earthjustice attorney Katie Renshaw is the lead attorney on the case filed yesterday and would be happy to tell you more about the issues involved.
Katie Renshaw can be reached in the Washington DC Earthjustice office at 202-667-4500 ex 220. Thanks
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7-30-2009 @ 11:35PM
Pat said...
Well from what I have heard the wind power plan was just a ruse to acquire by imminent domain the land over Texas's largest underground water source and then sell that water to the cities. That is where he was really going to make his money. Wind power is ludicrous as a way to power cities. Solar power in Texas would be way more economical and not require the pilfering of thousands of acres of land. At most wind power may be able to supplement the existing power grid but in no way would it ever replace it.
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7-08-2009 @ 6:35PM
dang said...
Picken's has been SABOTAGED and THREATENED by the OIL-MONGERS parasites... Cause once Pickens has Solarized and Wind powered the entire United States, oil will be nothing but chicken-sh*t!!!
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7-08-2009 @ 6:38PM
Overshown said...
Mr. Pickens: I truely believe that Wind energy is one of the best New alternatives we have. I also believe that the "powers that be" will not allow you to perfect this concept. It will prevent so many companies, & entities from controlling and making more monies. Which is the reason we are in the mess we are in GREED.
I believe even though you personally have billions, the "powers that be" would rather drive you to bankruptcy then change. Keep up the good fight, there are a few of us behind you
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7-08-2009 @ 8:12PM
sgentilejr said...
It was a pipe dream from the start. It is far more costly to generate electricity using wind or solar power. Two and three times more costly. With more and more people losing their jobs everyday they simply cannot afford to pay an electric bill for wind generated electricity that would be two or three times higher than what they are now paying for electricity,. Plus the further the distance is that electricity is generated from people who need it, the more power that is lost in the transmission of the power. As more factories and business go bankrupt and more people lose their homes and apartments the demand for electricity decreases, so why generate more when we really don't need it and we cannot afford to pay two or three times higher electric bills than we now pay..
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7-09-2009 @ 12:01AM
Tech said...
I liked the idea and it could sure work out if the "government" wasn't fossil fuel ruled. What I would like to see is Fresnell Lenses hooked to steam generators to produce oodles of cheap electricty! Can't understand why this hasn't already been done and SAIC etc. have been building ridiculously expensive Sterling engine solar collectors with so much over technology it's ridiculous! Anyone realize there's plenty of power just below us? Geothermal is viable and steady and Chevron is drilling out west but with heat pumps and deep drilling technology we could really get somewhere! Iceland would be a great example using thermal to heat everything 24/7. Yes it depends on the depth but let's put the eggheads on this now or the Rockefeller Goldman Sachs idiots will have us using coal for the next 650 years instead.(After occupying Iraqistan for the next 150 years) We've got the bunker buster type nukes which could be put to better use blowing holes down to usable heat! Well David Rockefeller?
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7-09-2009 @ 3:44AM
JGK said...
T. Boone Pickens,
Buck up and get with it. You have no excuse to discredit your age, wisdom, and country like this. Very bad form.
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7-18-2009 @ 12:31AM
Scottar said...
I fail to see Pickens claim that wind energy will replace NG as a power source. Since wind is so variable and volatile it has to be backed up with what is known as spinning reserve or standby power. This power is normally by the ready for grid backup purposes if a generator failure should occur or other power plant mishap.
With wind that backup power would need to be expanded to back up any dropout of wind power which can happen from an hour to minuet by minuet.
The customary backup for wind is gas powered turbine plants that can be brought up to speed in minuets but must be continuously powered up at a minimal power state as spinning reserve to back up wind dropouts. so their is some constant consumption of NG to keep these gas powered turbines at standby status. They also have maintenance drawbacks due to power up and down heat stresses.
So from what Pat posted is that Pickens wanted to gain domain rights not just for the transmissions rights but also a water pipeline from the endangered aquifer in the Oklahoma area to I think it was Dallas. That's the white gold of the 21st century as good water supplies are increasingly depleted or strained.
Wind and solar are free but harnessing it effectively is currently expensive. If it wasn't for excessive government tax breaks and subsidies it would be just another pipe dream. In fact it was ENRON that first came up with the wind farm concept as they knew it would be a good scam. Read and learn.
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