Oilman calls on Congress for wind power
WASHINGTON (AP) - July 22, 2008 Pickens has been on a $58 million publicity tour to promote his
plan to erect wind turbines in the Midwest to generate electricity,
replacing the 22 percent of U.S. power produced from natural gas.
The freed up natural gas then could be used for transportation.
Testifying before the Senate Homeland Security and Government
Affairs Committee, Pickens said the government should begin
building transmission lines for wind-generated power or provide the
right of way on private land and extend tax credits so the private
sector can build the lines.
"If the government wanted to build a grid, I mean, do it," he
said. "But if they don't want to do it, I think the money is there
to do it private, and so it's kind of like either do it or get out
of the way, but give us the corridors to put it in and it'll be
done. You could do this on a very, very fast track if you wanted."
Pickens suggested that Congress follow the lead of former
President Eisenhower, who declared an emergency to build the
interstate highway system in the 1950s and 1960s.
Pickens has leased hundreds of thousands of acres for a giant
wind farm in West Texas, where he plans to erect 2,700 turbines and
produce energy for urban areas such as Dallas and Fort Worth. He
has run into some opposition from West Texas landowners who are
unhappy with his efforts to obtain rights of way to build the wind
farm and a pipeline for a separate water project.
Specifically, Pickens asked Congress to extend a 2005 law
intended to speed up the creation of energy corridors, and to give
him control over any transmission lines he builds for
wind-generated power. All electric transmission lines are now
regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Pickens also called for a 10-year extension of a tax credit for
energy producers. He estimated it would cost taxpayers $15 billion
a year in production tax credits for 200,000 megawatts of wind
power.
"When you look at $700 billion dollars going out of country
every year for purchase of oil, $15 billion is somewhat
insignificant," he said.
Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., called Pickens' plan bold and
said he hoped Pickens' testimony would "infect people in a
position in Washington to do something about it."
But the oilman's plan raised questions with Sen. George
Voinovich, R-Ohio, who asked if it would hurt the chemical
industry, which relies on natural gas as raw material. He said the
industry probably won't like seeing natural gas costs increase.
Pickens estimated it would cost about $500 billion to increase
wind energy production from the 4,000 megawatts to be generated at
his Texas wind farm to 200,000 megawatts, the amount needed to
power 20 percent of U.S. energy needs. Transmission lines and the
tax credit would add another $15 billion.
At that level, he said, "You're approaching about one year's
supply of oil that you're buying. But don't get the idea that
replaces that oil, it doesn't. It will only replace 38 percent."
In addition to the hearing, Pickens also met privately Tuesday
with Democratic and Republican members of Congress as well as Texas
senators.
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On the Net:
Pickens Plan: http://www.pickensplan.com/theplan/