Pickens and Gore – Capitalist vs. Politician July 22, 2008

What do the Politician and the Capitalist have in common?

Two behemoths in the energy field, one a Texas billionaire, the other a former vice president, each have a plan to get America off our oil dependence. Even though they may be on either side of the fence, their plans have more in common than not. Both contain a power grid to move energy around the country and both advocate wind power. The other common thread is that the current political leadership is lacking in this area. In fact, the Bush Administration’s answer is to lift the ban on offshore oil drilling. Let’s hope that a new president will invite both Mr. Gore and Mr. Pickens to the table to combine the best of both worlds. November elections can’t come soon enough.

Below are summaries of each plan.

Challenge to Repower America – 100% carbon-free electricity in 10 years

Al Gore, a former Democratic vice president and Nobel Prize-winning crusader on climate change, challenged America to develop 100% renewable and clean energy electricity within a decade.

1. The US will be able to reduce our demand, as much as 30% through efficiency.
2. We can have a unified national grid that cost-effectively and reliably moves electricity around the country from our energy sources to our energy users at the moment it’s needed.
3. The electricity system can be a mix of carbon-free baseload and distpatchable sources like solar thermal with storage, geothermal, wind, solar photovoltaics, biomass, existing nuclear and hydropower, and coal and natural gas power if they are able to capture the carbon.

The plans calls for private sector and government funding and is expected to cost between $1.5 trillion and $3 trillion.

Gore’s plan is backed by his We Campaign a $300 million effort launched earlier this year to mobilize Americans on climate change.

Pickens Plan - Reduce our dependence on foreign oil

The Pickens Plan calls for a massive switch to natural gas as a transportation fuel and a dramatic increase in wind power. Behind the plan is T. Boone Pickens, legendary oil man, corporate raider and wind power developer.

1. Install wind turbines in the ”wind corridor” from the Canadian border to West Texas to generate 20% or more of our electricity supply.
2. Build electric power transmission line to transport the energy to population centers in the Midwest, South and Western regions of the country.
3. Use the natural gas that was historically utilized to fuel power plants as fuel for thousands of vehicles in our transportation system.

The plan calls for funding by the private sector and would cut more than one-third, equal to $230 billion, off the nation’s yearly payments to foreign countries. And we can do it all in 10 years.

Pickens puts his money where his mouth is. Pickens’ Mesa Power company is building a 4,000 megawatt wind farm at Pampa, Texas, which he said would make Pampa the “wind capital of the world.”  Cost estimates are between $6 and $10 billion.

Using wind power is not radical. The U.S. Department of Energy issued a news release May 12, 2008 that Wind Energy Could Produce 20 Percent of U.S. Electricity By 2030.

The media campaign is funded by Pickens personal fortune. If you haven’t seen his commercials yet, it just means you haven’t turned on your T.V. His campaign is web-savvy with a presence on MySpace, Facebook Profile, Facebook Page, LinkedIn, Twitter, Twitter RSS and YouTube.

Resources:

• ABC News – Pickens Building World’s Largest Wind Farm
• Pickens Plan
• Sustainable Development and much more…Could both sides – and plans – work hands in hands?
• U.S. Department of Energy – Wind Energy Could Produce 20 Percent of U.S. Electricity By 2030
• WE Campaign – Challenge to Repower America

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