A New Push for Wind Power

Posted by Susan Kristoff Jul 13, 2008

It seems ironic that an oilman is bringing more attention to wind power as an energy source than environmentalists and politicians have in recent years. T. Boone Pickens recently announced his plan for taking advantage of the wind conditions in the central US and dramatically reducing America's dependence on oil. While wind farms are currently in place in locations throughout the US, PIcken's vision includes an integrated, nationwide system.

The concept is to replace 20% of the electricity generated by natural gas in the US with wind-generated electricity by building large wind farms in the Great Plains, from Texas north through the Dakotas. Our natural gas resources can then be redirected to fueling natural gas-powered vehicles, reducing our dependence on oil. Pickens is already putting his money where his mouth is. His company Mesa Power is already constructing what will be the largest wind farm in the world in Pampa, Texas.

Pickens claims that "building new wind generation facilities and better utilizing our natural gas resources can replace more than one-third of our foreign oil imports in 10 years." He also claims that many jobs can be created in the US for the manufacture and installation of wind turbines.

Of course, there are challenges. The central US lacks the power transmission infrastructure to transmit electricity from potential wind farm locations to population centers on the coasts. While a wind component in our energy policy would have low costs over time, a massive initial investment is required to plan, build, and install the wind farms and associated power transmission.

Despite the potential challenges, it is a "breath of fresh air" to hear someone like Pickens talking about making wind power a significant portion of our energy portfolio.

Sources

PickensPlan website

"Questions for T. Boone Pickens", CNN SciTech Blog, July 10, 2008.