Pickens calls off massive wind farm in Texas

[NickB79]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Pickens-calls-off-massive-apf-2238040143.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=main&asset=&ccode=

"HOUSTON (AP) -- Plans for the world's largest wind farm in the Texas Panhandle have been scrapped, energy baron T. Boone Pickens said Tuesday, and he's looking for a home for 687 giant wind turbines.

Pickens has already ordered the turbines, which can stand 400 feet tall -- taller than most 30-story buildings.

"When I start receiving those turbines, I've got to ... like I said, my garage won't hold them," the legendary Texas oilman said. "They've got to go someplace."

Pickens' company Mesa Power ordered the turbines from General Electric Co. -- a $2 billion investment -- a little more than a year ago. Pickens said he has leases on about 200,000 acres in Texas that were planned for the project, and he might place some of the turbines there, but he's also looking for smaller wind projects to participate in. He said he's looking at potential sites in the Midwest and Canada."


Can't say I like Picken's politics one bit, but I still hate to see a wind farm cancelled.

[aquart]

1. Why did he cancel?

[Optical.Catalyst]

5. Correlation Does Not Prove Causation ...

It sure seems that whenever we get serious about alternative energy, the oil producing countries flood the market with oil driving down the price of energy.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=115x200872

[Life Long Dem]

6. No transmission lines

The technology is not canceled.

[sam sarrha]

9. he wanted a Huge Right-of way..& all the water under it.. didnt get it, maybe he'll go to Paraguay

with Dubya

[eppur_se_muova]

14. AND the water? In TEXAS? He should've known better.

Can't believe he thought that would fly. :shrug:

[sam sarrha]

15. he is a narcissistic megalomaniac.. anything goes

[eppur_se_muova]

16. Oh, so there IS an explanation!! :^D nt

[mmonk]

2. I saw quite a few windmill operations as I traveled across

the US the past few weeks. There are plenty of people that will take them.

[LostInAnomie]

3. What that really means...

... is that his multi-billion dollar imminent domain scheme isn't going to go through.

[DCBob]

4. Someday we will wish he had built that wind farm.

We are so short sighted.

[DCKit]

8. It wasn't about the wind farms, it was about rights-of-way across TX.

Pickens had bought up water rights all over central and western TX and wanted the corridor so he could build pipelines for water, gas and oil under those electric lines - said electric lines which may or may not be built until long after the rest was in place.

It may have been FReepers/conservatives thinking "It's "green", it must be eeeeeevul" and/or other energy corporations who didn't want competition (or any further validation of non-petroleum technology), or the fact that enough people saw the plan for what it was, but he didn't get his way, so he's taking his toys and going home.

He gambled, he lost.

[RandomThoughts]

10. In your metaphor, they are not his toys, but if he wants to leave that is his choice n/t

[RandomThoughts]

7. It seems Pickens is the biggest donor to Texas Politics.

http://info.tpj.org/watchyourassets/pickens/index.html

With so much assets, it seems it would be much simpler to just acquire some of his wealth through higher taxes, that way it can be spent on what society thinks is best, not what one person thinks is best. Although it would make sense that if he thinks one person could decide for so many people by getting laws changed with money, he should have his decisions made for him by some form of edict.

A quick reading says he has around 3 billion, mostly made in oil sector. If you figure how much of that he actually earned, it would make sense to appropriate the 2 billion for the wind project from him. Maybe pay him a weekly wage to manage the project.

[RandomThoughts]

17. It is possible that other investors have pulled out

It should be said that it might not be Pickens directly that is shelving the project.

Since the Pickens project was suppose to be around 10 billion and he was putting in 2 billion, it would be interesting to know who the other investors with 8 billion dollars to invest are.


Also Goldman Sachs has a wind power company
http://www.horizonwind.com/news/articles/2005march21-2.aspx

[Nathanael]

11. He's Already Ordered the Turbines

So, he's planning on developing three smaller wind farms. His team is checking out sites in Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, and Wisconsin. And, apparently he still wants to develop 4,000 megawatts of wind power. Hopefully in his future sites he makes sure he has a way to transport the energy to living areas.

Here is some more info on Pickens' plans: http://www.energyboom.com/wind/tboone-pickens-shuffles-plans-his-mega-wind-farm-project-falls-apart

[excess_3]

18. that is what he claims, I guess

I wouldn't necessarily believe everything
that is written in E/E

[ThirdWorldJohn]

12. I am sure that Pickens is just trying to act the victin to get the Feds t o help out. He is not that

stupid.

[zbdent]

13. If he's having a yard sale, I'll take one off his hands for $100 ...