Skip navigation


Current DateTime: 04:47:28 21 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 24355697
  • Runway Angels

      The superbowl of fashion shows, models walk down the runway at the 2009 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.

  • The Richest Members of the US Congress

      Recently, the Center for Responsive Politics found that there are 237 millionaires in the US Congress.

  • 10 Tips to Get Out of Debt

      Renowned financial author Gail Vaz-Oxlade takes a tough-love approach to helping couples in a financial crisis to face reality.

FEATURED QUIZZES


Current DateTime: 04:47:28 21 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 33793611
  • How Much Do You Know About Green?

      Green has become part of our everyday lives. Green is everywhere-- energy, clothing, food, housing, transportation. It's a big business and a global business.

  • The Billionaire BFF's

      Philanthropists. Bridge partners. Hockey players. Which responses are based on facts from Buffett's and Gates' real lives?

  • The Many Myths of Coca-Cola

      Can you tell which statements are true, and which ones are just rumors?


Current DateTime: 04:47:29 21 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 24890560
  • Winterizing Your Portfolio

      If 2009 was the winter of our discontent, will 2010 be a winter wonderland for investors? A lot depends on the recovery—or lack thereof.

  • Investor's Guide to Real Estate

      Some even say the long-awaited recovery is here. Regardless, buyers and sellers alike can profit from our guide.

  • Alternative Investing

      Stocks and bonds? Sure. But it's a big world out there for investors.

powered by digg
Pickens' Plan: Use Wind for Gas, Gas for Oil
By: By CNBC.com | 08 Jul 2008 | 08:44 AM ET
Text Size

Use the right energy for the right use. That concept lies at the core of a U.S. domestic energy plan unveiled Tuesday by legendary oilman T. Boone Pickens.

The United States uses close to $700 billion in foreign energy supplies, primarily oil, Pickens pointed out on CNBC's "Squawk Box." It will be impossible for one energy source to totally replace that supply, he noted.

But developing wind and solar power could lower the use of natural gas in some instances, he said. The some of that natural gas could be redirected to uses normally reserved for oil, like transportation. That, in turn, could lead to a 38 percent reduction in the use of foreign energy supplies, he concluded. (See Pickens explain the details of his plan in the video).

"That's a pretty good start," he said, adding that it would take about five years to "pretty far down the path" and 10 years to totally accomplish.

And that reduction would be accomplished with energy that doesn't run out, he pointed out.

"It's not like finding an oil field," Pickens said. "You find an oil field, and it's not long before it starts to decline, and then deplete.  Then, the oil field's gone.  The wind doesn't stop."

The layout of the United States lends itself to wind and solar development, he said. The central corridor is ripe for wind development, provided the U.S. government makes corridors available to transmit power out. And the southwest is ideal for solar development, he added.

Pickens himself pointed out that he would stand to benefit from such a domestic policy. He is a major investor in wind power projects and natural gas projects. He is in the midst of building a wind power farm capable of generating 1,000 megawatts of power — the first tranche of a $10 billion, 4,000 megawatts plan — and new transmission lines to bring this wind power to energy-hungry Texas cities.

"I expect to make money in whatever I put my money in, but...it's secondary to what I'm trying to accomplish here," Pickens explained. "... Back in, it was 1970, we were importing 24 percent (of our energy needs).  By 1991 -- the Gulf war -- we were importing 42 percent, and now we're importing almost 70 percent.  We are very close to a disaster for the country."

Pickens indicated he will spend upwards of $10 million to promote his plan and make it a topic of the ongoing presidential campaign.

"I'm 80, and I've had almost 60 years experience in this business...I think I have a story to tell, and the story is that the country's in trouble," Pickens said.

© 2008 CNBC.com
Tools:
Print EmailAdd This share icon
  • digg share

CNBC HIGHLIGHTS

  • Technology can make or break a fortune in the world of alternative energy.
  • Many people are facing the holidays with substantially smaller incomes. Here’s how some are adapting.
  • Jim Cramer
  • Jim Cramer is a proponent of stocks that pay healthy dividends, and here are his top five dividend plays.
  • From salt, to lip balm to envelopes, it turns out that bacon flavoring can sell almost anything.
  • real estate signs
  • The homebuyer's tax credit jacked sales for a while, but 2010 is looking weak. Now what?
  • CNBC’s technology reporter Jim Goldman guides you through the best gadgets to buy this holiday season.
ADD COMMENTS
Remaining characters


Current DateTime: 06:39:37 21 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29778428

Current DateTime: 01:03:48 21 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779196

Current DateTime: 01:02:04 21 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779199

Current DateTime: 01:02:05 21 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779198
  Data is a real-time snapshot  *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes
Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis

© 2009 CNBC, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.
A Division of NBC Universal
Thomson ReutersThomson Reuters