HARTFORD, Conn. — Maverick oilman T. Boone Pickens' plan for a mammoth wind farm in the Texas Panhandle is a $2 billion bet that Congress will extend a tax credit critical to the environmentally-friendly industry.
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Pickens' company, Mesa Power, is purchasing hundreds of wind turbines from General Electric Co. to create the Pampa Wind Project, which will eventually cover 400,000 acres and generate enough power for more than 1.3 million homes.
"We are making Pampa the wind capital of the world," Pickens said. "It's clear that landowners and local officials understand the economic benefits that this renewable energy can bring not only to landowners who are involved with the project, but also in revitalizing an area that has struggled in recent years."
Pickens said the total cost of the deal will grow to between $10 billion and $12 billion after the initial $2 billion investment in GE's turbine technology. The entire four-phase project is forecast for completion in 2014. It will eventually have 4,000 megawatts of capacity.
Wind farms and other alternative fuels are gaining more interest as the cost of oil keeps breaking records. Oil prices hit a trading record near $127 a barrel Tuesday.
Pickens, who was born in nearby Oklahoma and made the early part of his fortune hunting for oil and natural gas, said that developing alternative energy projects is critical for the nation's future. But the industry has relied on federal tax credits to survive, a point that Pickens underscored Thursday.
"I believe that Congress will recognize that it is critical not only to this project, but to renewable energy in this country, that they enact a long-term extension of the Production Tax Credits," Pickens said.
Tax credits of 2 cents per kilowatt hour are set to expire this December, said Christine Real de Azua, a spokeswoman for the American Wind Energy Association.
The credits expired in 1999, 2001 and 2003, Real de Azua said. Wind power installation dropped significantly in each following expiration of the credits, she said.
Because it is unclear that the production tax credit will be in place, financing for many projects is still pending, she said.
"These projects are being held up and investment is at stake," Real de Azua said.
More than 5,200 megawatts of new wind power capacity was installed last year, more than double the amount in 2006, the American Wind Energy Association said.
The deal is a windfall for Fairfield-based GE, which makes jet engines, locomotives and water treatment plants and runs the NBC television network. Normally a reliable producer for its shareholders, GE's failure to hit its own projected earnings marks in the first quarter this year sent a ripple through Wall Street and underscored that even the world's largest companies are struggling with the weakened economy.
The announcement came a day after reports surfaced that the international conglomerate was shopping its 101-year-old appliance business for as much as $8 billion. Last year, it sold its struggling plastics business to to a Saudi company for $11.6 billion.
While GE has worked in recent years to shed underperforming products, Thursday's deal with Mesa Power was in line with its strategy to grow its renewable investment business.
GE set a goal of investing $6 billion in renewable energy by 2010, increasing its investment by 50 percent.
"As America's demand for energy escalates, it is clear that wind can and will play a bigger part in meeting that need," said Jeffrey R. Immelt, GE Chairman and CEO. "We're excited to partner with an energy visionary like T. Boone Pickens to bring our wind technology to the marketplace."
GE stock was trading Thursday afternoon at $32.28, down 23 cents.
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AP Business Writer Adam Schreck in New York contributed to this report.
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P.S. Hey, this is not the time to pick on mister from bigot-a. His comment was about as close as he's ever been to being relavant
Oh, yeah. You've got to love people like Kurt. This is the typical guy that waits to hear what others are saying, then he slams everyone's comments while having no solutions of his own. Kurt, get a clue.
We, the American people -- that's you, too, Kurt -- are the ones responsible for the continuance of dependability on OPEC and gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs.
Had we, the American people, learned our lesson during the Carter administration and DEMANDED (by our buying habits and our voting records) independence from OPEC, alternative fuel and/or transportation options and better fuel efficient cars, then we'd not be bent over the barrel like we are AGAIN today.
I'll bet you Kurt isn't driving a hybrid either.
Danny jumps the gun again. Anyways, I love how people make global warming a partisan issue when it DOESN'T HAVE TO BE AT ALL. This goes for both sides, though I tend to sway to the side that DOESN'T say "ah, to hell with it, those moron liberal gay loving tree huggers should just shut up and let me litter and speed in my totally unnecessary Escalde. McCain 08!" By the way, John from Stigler, (or should I say 'burt' from edmond?)you should rent "Who Killed the Electric Car?" It's sure to answer your question, and piss you off, as well as anyone else that sees it.
Why no cry of "dirty money" by jealous Swooner fans here?
Boone Pickens has donated tons of his hard-earned money to OSU, not only in athletics, but into the geology department as well. He's donated to UT, Baylor and UHouston medical and academic departments as well. Not only those, but to hundreds of charities, too.
Boone is very intelligent and very good at putting his money, time and energy to use.
So, for all of you envious Boone Haters, you can sit around screaming about how bad Boone and his money are while the rest of us intelligent folk applaude his altruistic and futuristic endeavors.
I'm sure glad Boone is an OSU Cowboy. He is too.
We've had the technology and the ability to go green for a long time now. We have just allowed the oil companies to control us. Now that the oil men are getting greedy and making insane profits, the people are standing up for themselves and demanding better. I think a lot of people like Boone and Gore are seeing the possibility of making some profit in the early "boom" of the "going green" movement. However, whatever their true intentions are, it's nice to see more powerful people stepping up and making a difference. We as American's have become too wasteful and dependent on foreign governments, most of which don't like us. As for this wind technology, in western KS, OK, TX...that's prime area for them. High winds and little trees.
Apparently, Al Gore does now indeed practice what he preaches. I saw recently where his ranch in TN will be 100% naturally sustaining. Plus folks, and I'm not here to defend the man, his record stands on its own, but it is not a hypocrite to avail yourself of modern technology while advocating responsible change. I've never heard him advocate that we somehow turn the clock back. My reading of his views (and yeh, I've read and seen, etc) is simply much less politically tinged. Put your own bias aside and ask yourself what you can do to make this a safer, better place for yourself and your progeny. I work in oil and gas, so I understand that most of us are the true environmentalists. We all do more to consume less than the people I know outside of this industry. Perhaps it is because we are more aware?
I agree, Ed, Al Gore should practice more of what he preaches.
But regardless, he has done far more to bring global warming to the forefront of national conversation and made lots of people stand up and take notice.
And while it's admirable you drive an economical car, I beg to differ about the old "Gore bumpersticker" analgoy.
I see far, far, far more BUSH/CHENEY old bumperstickers on huge SUVs and pickup trucks than any Clinton or Obama's.
I mean, come on. This IS Oklahoma, after all.
The law of averages demands it.
But we could all be doing more, regardless of partisan politics.
This isn't a political issue anyway, it's an environmental one.
But it's hard to get alot done when you have one Senator who doesn't even think global warming exists, at all, period, and another who is more concerned about lesbianism running rampant in southeastern Oklahoma.
Ollie,
You're another clueless idiot.
No land has to be "cleared" for wind turbines. They cause NO environmental damage at all, and don't generate any pollution. Save for the small amount of land that will have to be cleared for each turbine, but that is tiny, and as other posters have already pointed out, that area is devoid of any forests or grasslands-it's semi arid, not like here in Oklahoma, but then you've probably never traveled outside your own little world.
We do indeed need alternative energy sources, and wind power is one of the best.
Clean, non polluting, and never runs out, especially in the panhandle of Texas.
Just because I don't buy into the liberal party puke line about global warming doesn't mean my "head is in the sand" because I don't agree with you, Michael. I could give a fat rat what Al Gore thinks and makes his millions off of while jets around in his environmental disastrous airplane and his house that uses more energy than some small towns. What I do believe is that we must not be wasteful, be good stewards of our environment and the earth, conserve where we can and not be afraid to live frugal lifestyles if the need be. I am always amazed by the liberals who fly by me on the highway with a Obama/Clinton/Kerry bumper sticker on their SUV's while I am keeping my sub-compact under 60. If they are so danged "green" and worried about global warming why don't they practice what they puke out of the party line? To make my point that this will turn into a huge tax & spend scheme by the libs, check out the bucks the major corps are setting aside on their balance sheets in anticipation of future legislation on carbon offsets. Reference: CFO MAGAZINE article. Its a money grab.
Science isn't a matter of faith. I'd bet the posters here claiming that environmental change isn't happening (or isn't influenced by man's consumption) don't even have a journalism degree (the easiest of all). Word.
It's interesting to read all the "head in the sand" folks who don't want to believe humans can affect the environment; but at the same time endorse a non-polluting energy source like wind power. Whether you believe in global warming or not, it is way past time to develop alternative energy sources. We need it for our continued way of life, our economy and our national security (which, by the way, is something mean ol' Al Gore has been saying for a long, long time).
I'm all for developing other energy resources but did anyone else catch "..enact a long-term extension of the Production Tax Credits" Pickens quote. To my way of thinking that means our money (taxes) go to his pocket. These technologies must stand on their own but that means the price for petroleum products has to rise to a point that makes them economically viable.
Some think Bush is an idiot, some think Gore is an idiot, and others think both. But it's nice to see that most agree we need to get off the oil teat and take better advantage of renewable (or never-ending as is the case of wind in this part of the country!) energy resources. The "environment" isn't just about polar bears and whether there's a hole in the ozone, our environment includes the tremendous trade deficit that we accrue with oil producing nations and the power it gives them over us and the rest of the world.
Might be time to replace the oil rigs at the State Capitol with a few Wind Turbines. I still say the G.M. Plant would have been put to better use by building wind turbines there...oh well.
John in Stigler, you are right, we should have done this 50 years ago. Priced any copper lately? We should have also built nuclear power plants, developed synthetic fuels (the Germans produced synthetic diesel in large quantities by the end of WWII) and drilling and producing our own reserves instead of having the usual liberal NIMBY (not in my back yard) attitude insuring our dependence on OPEC and other third world dictators.
Ollie, I live close to Pampa, Tx and there is absolutely nothing out here but a little mequite, tumbleweeds, sagebrush and jackrabbits and coyotes. No harm to the environment will be done and certainly less than all the oilfield trash (pipe, old pump jacks, tank batteries, etc) that is abandoned and scattered all over the place around Pampa. This is a semi-arrid area that gets very few inches of rain a year. I agree with you about Al Gore. All the Global Warming hype is just that, hype. Climate change is cyclical and man has little control or impression upon it, if any. It is a means of control by legislating increasingly restrictive measures. Over the next few years we will see how stupid we are to allow the government to increase its control over our lives to the point of total submission. Animal Farm, anyone?
by no means am I an environmentalist, but I love the new ways science is seeking to create energy. I saw a show the other day where an entire dairy farm is run off of cow manure. I would love to see the rich oil companies see there profit fall not to mention OPEC nations. Lets push our local and national congressmen to put more emphasis in renewable energy whether it be solar, wind or water currents. It will only be better for all of us in the future
@Ollie, guess you have never seen a wind farm, they don't have to clear the area of trees and plants. Who is the "They" that wants to move all industry out of the U.S.A. into Africa and make us into a third-world nation? International trade benefits all nations, and our competitive advantage does not lie in manufacturing because of our high labor costs, rather with our ability to innovate and create new products for others to manufacture. I do agree with you though on the fact that climate change naturally occurs throughout the ages....and that Al Gore is an idiot and a sore loser. :)
Mister Bogata, it is too bad you are not half a smart as you believe yourself to be... And since your just a 'Two Bit Punk' you need to just go off and take yourself out...
I'm all for a alternative power source, but not for clearing a 400,000 acre area of trees and plants for Windmills... First here, then there, and everywhere...
Remember the climate change is not man made, it is a change that happens every so many hundreds to thousands of years... Take a look a how the aledged Ice Age came and then started to go to the point it is now... Well it's still going... There is no hole in the OZone as the idiot 'Al Gore' wants you to believe... And it is supposedly only over us!!! Why is it not over England, Germany, Japan, etc., etc... also... The Kyoto compact that G.W. Bush is keeping us out of is a 'FARCE' and Bush knows it... They want to move all industry out of the USA and to Africa... If a hole is in the OZone layer here, will that not create one there... They are trying too make the USA a 'Third World Nation', right under our noses...
I hope wind farms become as common as weeds. It would be nice to plunge countries like Venezuela, Iraq and other OPEC countries into sudden poverty - reducing them to the afterthoughts they should be. The power they weild because of their natural resources is not proportionate to the good they contribute to the globe. (Wow...that's deep.) I'm sick of sending my cash overseas for oil.
We should have started these projects back in the 50's and developed electric vehicles that are charged by the resulting energy. Once I get settled, I rarely travel more than 30 miles per day. If we all drove EV's that were charged by wind power, the only environmental impact I am aware is bird strikes. Could you imagine what cities like Houston, New Orleans, Atlanta, L.A., and Chicago would look like if 90 percent of vehicles were EV? Even Oklahoma City would benefit from reduced summer ozone levels. It would be nice to see companies like Exxon actually start to loose money and EV's are the key to making it happen. It would also slow down the poking of new holes in the Earth to extract oil and reduce the resulting impact.
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Thank you for joining our conversations on NewsOK.com. We encourage your discussions but ask that you stay within the bounds of our terms and conditions. Please help us by reporting comments that violate these guidelines. To review our rules of engagement, go to Commenting and posting policy.
Leave a comment. Log in below or sign up (it's free).Editor's note: It is not our intent to offer comments on crime or fatality stories.
We, the American people -- that's you, too, Kurt -- are the ones responsible for the continuance of dependability on OPEC and gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs.
Had we, the American people, learned our lesson during the Carter administration and DEMANDED (by our buying habits and our voting records) independence from OPEC, alternative fuel and/or transportation options and better fuel efficient cars, then we'd not be bent over the barrel like we are AGAIN today.
I'll bet you Kurt isn't driving a hybrid either.
Boone Pickens has donated tons of his hard-earned money to OSU, not only in athletics, but into the geology department as well. He's donated to UT, Baylor and UHouston medical and academic departments as well. Not only those, but to hundreds of charities, too.
Boone is very intelligent and very good at putting his money, time and energy to use.
So, for all of you envious Boone Haters, you can sit around screaming about how bad Boone and his money are while the rest of us intelligent folk applaude his altruistic and futuristic endeavors.
I'm sure glad Boone is an OSU Cowboy. He is too.
But regardless, he has done far more to bring global warming to the forefront of national conversation and made lots of people stand up and take notice.
And while it's admirable you drive an economical car, I beg to differ about the old "Gore bumpersticker" analgoy.
I see far, far, far more BUSH/CHENEY old bumperstickers on huge SUVs and pickup trucks than any Clinton or Obama's.
I mean, come on. This IS Oklahoma, after all.
The law of averages demands it.
But we could all be doing more, regardless of partisan politics.
This isn't a political issue anyway, it's an environmental one.
But it's hard to get alot done when you have one Senator who doesn't even think global warming exists, at all, period, and another who is more concerned about lesbianism running rampant in southeastern Oklahoma.
You're another clueless idiot.
No land has to be "cleared" for wind turbines. They cause NO environmental damage at all, and don't generate any pollution. Save for the small amount of land that will have to be cleared for each turbine, but that is tiny, and as other posters have already pointed out, that area is devoid of any forests or grasslands-it's semi arid, not like here in Oklahoma, but then you've probably never traveled outside your own little world.
We do indeed need alternative energy sources, and wind power is one of the best.
Clean, non polluting, and never runs out, especially in the panhandle of Texas.
Remember the climate change is not man made, it is a change that happens every so many hundreds to thousands of years... Take a look a how the aledged Ice Age came and then started to go to the point it is now... Well it's still going... There is no hole in the OZone as the idiot 'Al Gore' wants you to believe... And it is supposedly only over us!!! Why is it not over England, Germany, Japan, etc., etc... also... The Kyoto compact that G.W. Bush is keeping us out of is a 'FARCE' and Bush knows it... They want to move all industry out of the USA and to Africa... If a hole is in the OZone layer here, will that not create one there... They are trying too make the USA a 'Third World Nation', right under our noses...