Now this is exciting. T. Boone Pickens, chair of the Hedge Fund BP Capital Management, is throwing his money to the wind. Listen to an interview on NPR with ex-oilman Pickens and his new wind energy investment in Texas.
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Jennifer Jacquet is a Ph.D. candidate with the Sea Around Us Project at the UBC Fisheries Centre. She works closely with Dr. Daniel Pauly, who coined the term Shifting Baselines, the syndrome on which this blog focuses.
Josh Donlan is a conservation scientist and a Visting Fellow at Cornell University. He often hides out in the backcountry of the Teton Mountains, pondering bygone giant beavers and ground sloths. He also is also the founder and Director of Advanced Conservation Strategies and has a habit of restoring remote islands.
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T. Boone & Wind
Category: Solutions
Posted on: July 8, 2008 8:25 AM, by Josh Donlan
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Comments
This interesting, indeed, although it says more about where the money is going than it signals a turning point in conservation. I'd like to hear more about efforts to reduce energy consumption. The alternatives may be better than the status quo, but they come with their own set of draw backs. It'd be good to hear a follow-up on how we can mitigate for bird/bat mortality associated with wind energy, get that electricity to major urban centers, and foster high density living communities.
Posted by: Peter Nelson | July 8, 2008 9:46 AM
Hi,
Just curious about the wind in ND, we have land and we have tax credits, hope this could be of interest to your company, we are located on an Indian Reservation and on non-taxable land, if your interested, please email me at the above email, it would be great to hear from you either way. Thank you for your time in this matter...
Denise Marcellais 701-477-8975 or 5898 Box 1781 Belcourt, ND 58316
Posted by: Denise Marcellais | July 8, 2008 2:35 PM
Excellent point Pete - with respect to reducing a consumption. An anecdotal answer: two weeks ago John Kerry told us in a crowd that "his people" (which are smart people including many NAS members) are telling him the energy conservation can account for over >50% of our needed reductions. And, as importantly, people can make money while doing it.
Posted by: Josh Donlan | July 8, 2008 4:50 PM
Actually, it's not as exciting as you think it ought to be. T. Boone has had a scheme dating back to 2001 to pump water from the Ogallala aquifer. The water is being pumped at a much greater rate than it can be replenished. It is fossil water. He is working a way to get eminent domain so he can not only build the powerlines necessary to transmit the electricity. It also gives him a corridor to build a pipeline for the water.
Mr. Pickens is in his 80's and he probably won't live to see a return on his investment in wind energy, but most likely will on the water.
Posted by: CLM | July 8, 2008 7:34 PM
Yes it is interesting, and a boost that's needed right now for the wind industry, which has been slowing in the US in light of the failure of Congress to pass a bill ensuring wind's 'production tax credit' into next year and beyond.
But the other half of Pickens' plan is less exciting. To quote Joe Romm, "But the notion that we would use the wind power to free up natural gas in order to fuel a transition to natural gas vehicles makes no sense. Why would we go to the trouble of switching our vehicle fleet from running on one expensive fossil fuel to another expensive fossil fuel? Any freed up natural gas should be used to displace coal ..." More here:
http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/7/8/15835/74508
Erik
Posted by: Erik Hoffner, Orion Grassroots Network | July 9, 2008 8:42 AM
I think that natural gas is actually undervalued right now compared to petroleum. As more of our technology is retooled to use it, the demand and price for it should rise. Hopefully, that will stop the wasteful "flaring" of natural gas from the oil fields in much of the developing world and Nigeria in particular.
Posted by: Don Thieme | July 10, 2008 3:02 AM
Erik Why would Pickens want to switch to nat. gas vehicles? Perhaps it has something to do with this company, Clean Energy Fuels Corp., which is creating nat. gas gas stations. Pickens is a director and I think a major investor.
Posted by: Jim | July 10, 2008 12:10 PM