Cost of Pickens Plan for US energy independence questioned by veteran journalist

The T. Boone Pickens plan for US Energy Independence was reviewed by well-known auto journalist Ed Wallace, who questioned the cost of increased wind production, increased compressed natural gas distribution as a transportation fuel, and the cost of improving transmission lines to carry wind power to major cities. A cost of a CNG-version of the Honda Civic, costing $25,000 compared to $15,000 for the conventional Civic, was compared to the annual savings of $1,073 in annual fuel costs. The article also looks at Texas wind energy reliability during peak summer demand months.

Biofuels Digest has established a group page at PickensPlan.com to track commentary and updates on the Pickens initiative, which has resulted in 500,000 website visits and 40,000 supporter registrations in the past week.

Pickens Plan background

US oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens, who is building the largest wind farm in the world through his company Mesa Power, said he will fund an aggressive media campaign in support of his “Pickens Plan” for energy independence.

“Natural gas and bio-fuels are the only domestic energy sources used for transportation,” according to the plan, which calls for 20 percent of US power to come from privately-funded wind farms, and redirection of natural gas from power plants to the transportation fuel sector. The plan, if successful, will focus more attention on the production of natural gas from biomass through anaerobic digestion or other thermo-chemical techniques such as the Fischer-Tropsch process or fast pyrolysis.

“I’ve been an oil man all my life,” said Pickens, but this is one emergency we can’t drill our way out of. But if we create a new renewable energy network, we can break our addiction to foreign oil.

Biofuels Digest has established a group site at PickensPlan.com, to track news developments regarding the Pickens Plan, as well as provide a central point for BD readers to support, propose modifications to, or oppose the plan.

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