It's true that
everything really is
more colossal in Texas, but unfortunately, it seems as if the planet's largest wind farm won't be
adding to the collection. Just over a year after energy baron T. Boone Pickens
announced plans to plant 687 gigantic wind turbines in Texas' panhandle, he's now scraping those intentions and actively looking for a new location to energize. The problem lies in the difficulty of getting 4,000 megawatts of power from Texas to the power distribution system, and now he's being forced to find a massive plot of land that's closer to said channels. There's no word yet on where Mr. Pickens is looking, but considering that even his garage isn't large enough to house the turbines (which have already been ordered, mind you), we'd guess that he'll settle on a new tract in short order.
posted Jul 8th 2009 3:04PM
I want to build a "billion wind farm" for $2.
SIGN ME UP! :D
T Boone has a Pickens with you
Just add then to all the others in Oklahoma!
Plenty on the mesas of west Texas, too.
This has more to do with the price of oil dropping back down to reasonable levels than Texas' grid system. When Pickens though gas was going to end up $10 a gallon the wind farm would make economical sense. Now, not so much.
Not to mention they should be able to find PLENTY of land in that area for Solar thermal plants. Perhaps even find dual-use land with Turbines AND solar thermal mirror troughs lined up along with them.
Scraping or scrapping?
I love how environmentalist idealogues really think things through before they do them.
Mr. Pickens made his wealth through oil. He only support the new technologies because the government subsidizes and he'll get a big check to build this.
kjb434 said:
"Mr. Pickens made his wealth through oil. He only support the new technologies because the government subsidizes and he'll get a big check to build this."
That's kind of like saying "kids go to college only because the government subsidizes and they'll get a big Stafford loan to do this."
Sure, he is making an investment, but hes also paying a lot of the opportunity cost to get this going up front. There's still a hell of a lot of money to be made in oil, so there's also no necessary reason for him to be getting into wind power. Its likely that the man genuinely believes in the technology, as well as the investment opportunity.
Besides, one of the best ways to implement the change that is needed is through existing market mechanisms! Why fault the man for wanting to engage in business AND help our energy needs AND help the environment? That those things are related does not corrupt any one of them, regardless of which is really driving the car.
Boone does not care about the environment, i heard one of his top execs say this (kidd you not)... he was doing this because he understands the energy market better than any one and knows where the money is (or was, pre-crisis).
Interconnection was only part of his problems, he was also having a hard time finding the financing necessary (expected 70-75% debt and he could not procure this)
@pstar
I could care less whether someone is making tons of money investing in this or not. The fact that he's willing to give this shot WHILE helping the environment is all I care about. If he makes tons of money doing this, well hot damn, that's a good businessman.
No one said these types of thing have to be mutually exclusive.
All he was really after is collecting water rights to hundreds of thousands of acres, which he has now accomplished. He could give two shits about measly profits from the wind farm and much less about the environment.
What is wrong with people like you? Why would you want to fight progress? Do you not want a clean, healthy planet? Do you not care about thousands of species going instinct and widespread human suffering?
These "environmental idealogues" are the very people who are trying to make the earth a better place without massive disruptions from global warming in 50 years from now. Wiping out of ocean foodchains, desertification of crop land, massive flooding along coasts, major droughts in areas that have never seen them, normal rainfall and monsoon patterns changing, tropical diseases and parasites spreading north and south from the equator into new areas, etc.
Not to mention getting rid of the billions of tons of nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, soot, and other pollution spewing from massive coal power plants and low-mileage petrol-burning vehicles.
And don't even being to pull the "liberal conspiracy" tin-foil hat B.S. Just like the creationism and the young earth folks, there are always right-wing nutcases who deny science and claim a conspiracy by the "secular liberal elite". Anyone with an I.Q. over 60 can read the major conclusions on climate change from scientific academies and organizations. There is no "debate" on this anymore. The only debate left is regarding how severe global warming is going to be, and what to do to mitigate it.
@Giles
My point is that Boone's greed HAPPENS to help the environment in this ocassion. This is not bad, of course... in this ocassion. If killing baby seals were to become the future of energy, Boone would also "be a good businessman" there too.
I work with wind and I see many admirable individuals that are in it for the environment. Let's be clear, Boone is not one of them (nor his crew).
Just put them all on al gore's property. Problem solved.
are you kidding? Manbearpig will immediately tear them down.
I thought al gore killed manbearpig years ago.
Al Gore's place?
Are you serial?
I really did think that T Boone Pickens was going to run for president. Considering the chosen reps (I see it, therefore I know about it), he had a pretty good chance too.
Mr. Pickens problem has to deal with environmentalist who restrict the building of transmission lines.
The problem is the transmission lines are needed for wind farms and any other larger power generation outfit to transfer power.
A wind farm in south Texas was scuttled because environmentalist wanted migratory birds and the land for the transmission line saved.
oh, I just thought he was looking for better tax shelters...
Actually, it looks like he was looking to monopolize the water table of the region and tried to use 'green power' as the trojan horse to get his way with the water scheme.
Interesting article that pretty much shreds his PR spin that this is all about clean energy:
http://www.tucsonweekly.com/tucson/Opinion/Content?oid=oid:113228
This is exactly it. IT was about controlling a majority of drinkable water. If you think an oil shortage and it's attendant high prices are bad, imagine a scenario where water is more expensive than top-shelf liquor is right now.
And I'm sure the government of Texas would just be totally cool with a company profiteering while people died for lack of water. If it was another country gaining control of our water supply, sure, that would be bad, but it's entirely domestic and the government would not allow that. Well, outside of Chicago at least, that's kind of the exception that proves the rule.
Yeah, here in Texas someone would just shoot him. Then they'd have all the water and more fun would ensue!
God I love this state.
Good for him!
I've been interested in Mr. Picken's plan for a long time. It makes a whole hell of a lot of sense, and given what the U.S. government has been spending recently, $2bn is chump change.
For those who don't know, he has spent a good deal of his own money trying to get this off the ground.
Perhaps you could get behind companies that have been championing wind energy for years. Somebody like NextEra Energy Resources - http://www.nexteraenergyresources.com/index.shtml who are one of the largest providers of wind energy in N.A.
Yeah, why not?
Its not an either-or proposition.
I can imagine he'll have some trouble, as wind farm land is slim pickens these days.
Not in Texas. There's pleeeeeenty of open land here. The problem is getting the generated energy to urban centers, because the land for the wind farms is a long way away from the cities.
I make a joke, you see!
Pickens is nothing but an opportunist. I wouldn't trust him for anything!
What in the hell is wrong with being an opportunist? Alexander Graham Bell was an opportunist. So was Samuel Morse, as well as Edison. They were all opportunist and it was to the benefit of all mankind that they were. If this guy wants to put up a large chunk of change for an investment and he makes a couple of bucks and cuts down on fossil fuel usage why the hell do you care what his motive are?
Somehow I don't think he thought his cunning plan all the way through.
His problem, along with all other evil villains, is he took time to describe in detail to us how his plan was going to work.
The oil baron who shagged us, but mistakenly took too long describing too well his intended plan to create a wind farm that was actually a large solar reflector array that was going to bounce the focused rays off the moon and back to earth so he could hold the Earth's countries* ransom for a ... million dollars?!?
* - all the Earth's countries except those in places hard to bounce rays off the moon from with the originating energy coming from Texas, and except for a small head shaped island in the Pacific.
The problem he has isn't that there isn't enough distribution infrastructure to support the new generation, its that the texas power grid is seperate from the rest of the US.
Also, T Boone is a shady mofo.
4,000 megawatts? Isn't that 4 gigawatts? And doesn't that mean that this wind farm will be able to power 3.125 Deloreans?
That was jiggawatts not gigawatts.
I like this (the wind) part of the Pickens plan, however I think converting cars to run off natural gas is foolish.
Never trust an oil man.
This guy was up in everybody's grill pushing his 'common sense' plan (implying that we were all a bunch of shortsighted idiots for putting gas in our cars).
Way to go T. Boo. Your plan didn't go past the end of the wires on the generator??
Actually if you read the article, he did have plans for the transmission wires, but they didn't work out. It happens.
Thanks Dorf, but I did read the article. On a two billion dollar plus project, you have contingency plans and legal agreements. You don't just say "oh well, I figgurd on what I wuz gonna do, but it didn't work out... yuk yuk."
Please...Those NIMBY folks from East Toronto (and anywhere else someone tries to put these things up) told me that wind turbines are ugly. I think we need to stick with majestic coal-fire power plants.
LOL, that actually made me laugh outloud, +1 for majestic coal plants!
He's got some good ideas.. Natural gas off the coast of California for starters....
The US needs a new electrical grid. You can't get power from one side of the country to the other.
The problem is.. and T. Boone has talked about it, is that to get a new grid would possibly involve "taking" land away from a lot of people to run those massive power lines that are needed.
Hey at least he's trying. Start something, then refine the idea and navigate around obstacles as you encounter them. Make a profit while you're at it so you can keep it going. Sounds good to me.
We need more people in the U.S. with big ideas. What ever happened to the mighty industrialists who drove innovation in this country so many years ago? They had a vision and they went for it. Have they all been replaced by short-term investors?
I would think that as part of the business plan he would have had other areas scouted out. You know, in the event of a problem with said plot of land. Then again, I would also expect the planning process to know whether or not I was close enough to distribution lines... Seems like that could kind of be a big deal. Hm...
Maybe his business plan did include possible other places though, and he has ideas about where else to install his massive electron generating devices already, unknown to us. Given that the NSA is moving a massive power hungry facility to Utah (largely in part due to power restraints elsewhere), maybe he should put them there? =)
NSA Needs More Power:
http://it.slashdot.org/story/09/07/02/0333202/NSA-To-Build-20-Acre-Data-Center-In-Utah?from=rss
Please Mr. Pickens come build on the Pine Ridge or Rosebud Indian Reservations in South Dakota. Please!! We need the economy and the land and climate and wind is perfect! Thank you.
That's like asking the Devil to do a good deed.
How about we put a windmill on the top of every electric pole. That should help boost the grid and might even kill a few pigeons. Damn flying rats!