What Happened At WINDPOWER?! Part 1

The answer to that question isn't a simple one, simply because a lot happened at AWEA's annual wind conference and exhibition in Chicago last week. So, to avoid posting one large post which would require much scrolling on your part, I have decided I will break it down for you over the course of this week. Just make sure you check back for more...

Today's Topic: What Did Boone Pickens Have to Say?

In an interview with Bill Kurtis, television journalist, during the second general session of the conference T. Boone Pickens presented a pretty straight forward message: The United States needs to get off our dependency on foreign oil. He said that while renewables is part of the solution what we must do is go all American when it comes to energy.

Pickens urged people to ask their representatives what their energy plan is, because he said if they don't have an answer to your question then their plan is to rely on foreign oil. Pickens pointed out why this poses a security problem for our nation by saying that a great deal of our oil imported is from countries who are not friendly with the United States.

So does T. Boone Pickens think its possible to get 25% renewable energy by 2025? Yes, he thinks it can be done because he says the American people want it. He pointed out that the results of a recent poll shows that 70% of those polled knew what the Pickens Plan was and 78% of them were in favor of the plan. (You can find out more about the Pickens Plan at www.pickensplan.com).

Pointed out during the interview was the fact that some people just don't want wind energy development on or around their land. To that Pickens responded by saying that if you don't want wind energy development then don't do it; plenty of people elsewhere do want it (in the Great Plains for example).

As far as transmission is concerned, Pickens felt like it would work best if FERC was given the power to site the power grid just like they do with natural gas pipelines. He said that this would help with problems that might arise between states otherwise. Being a landowner himself he said that it wouldn't bother him to have a transmission line running through his property because what is good for this country is good for him. He felt like many landowners would share this same sentiment.

Pickens encouraged people to support his plan for energy Independence saying, "If I've got millions of people with me than I am a hell of a lot more important than just a rich guy from Texas."