Pickens abandons massive wind farm in Texas

Heads up. This might have something to do with Palin becoming president and selling the Republican party as independent energy for America. (postponing till 2013). Unfortunately that includes drilling, mining, and nuclear in the Republican book. The big thing we can do now is push efficiency, retrofit homes, etc. to make sure they can't use the argument that more power is needed so these plants must be built. We don't need more plants. We can have what we have now with LESS electricity if we make everything efficient. this is where all the jobs are. We need a leader TODAY to start the ball rolling. I nominate Amory Lovins.

Pickens, fraud. Paul, fraud.

Nuclear-clean efficient-local-environmentally smart

You want reliable and efficient alternative energy. We have it. It's called nuclear. Work to improve that technology and improve the science used and maybe these concerns of "nuclear waste" you environmentalist are so afraid of can be solved to refine this waste into even more energy. Polluting our lands with wind turbines and solar collectors (which, bouncing the sun's rays back into the atmosphere can't be good at slowing down this global warming predicament) are not going to be an efficient source of power. Not enough to power a modern human society. You want high speed rail, or hydrogen based energy, water management (I have to break it to you, but we will need to go with nuclear desalination at some point) then you will need a continual amount of efficient and reliable, highly dense energy which can only come from nuclear energy, to power that type of future.

Did he become a Nazi too? What's the pic???

Idiot!! He must've gotten word that the govt really has no intentions on using green energy... If they did it would've been done by now... Who spends $2 billion dollars and just throws it out of the window... Something in the milk aint clean!!

I have ten acres I'll take one. please I live on the texas gulf coast where the wind blows 365 days a year lots of room for the thing here

i'm still not understanding why no one has looked into the specific outlay he purchased, the people he had to purchase (with extraordinary costs), and the aquifer below his outlay. most importantly is the DRILLING INTO THE AQUIFER after purchasing the land. ladies and gentlemen, please get past the energy debate and realize what the purchase was about - water rights to starving land + hopeful energy investments in air windmills.. a billionaire doesn't act on hopeful..

http://www.aapg.org/explorer/2001/07jul/pickens_water.cfm

http://www.mesawater.com/

"Mesa Water represents a group of Texas Panhandle landowners, led by Boone Pickens, who put a lot of stock in two basic things . . . land and family.

For generations, these families have lived and worked in the rolling hills they love. God blessed their land with an underground aquifer filled with naturally pure groundwater. And thanks to the Ogallala Aquifer, these landowners have more water than they can ever use.

With the population of Texas booming and a perpetual drought predicted to hit our area as soon as 2021, water planners, state and local leaders are looking everywhere for a solution. They know the key to secure, drought-proof, long-term water planning is diversity . . . building reservoirs, encouraging conservation, capturing and purifying runoff and buying water from another region and piping it to where it is needed.

Today, Mesa Water is ready to sell water to communities that don¹t have enough for the future."

http://www.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=31876

i'm not an activist. i'm not one to babble. i am one for truth and just happen to live in Texas.

Turns out there was more money in natural gas. I'm sure T. Boone had no idea.

Big projects face big hurdles, and often have to be amended -- I know from experience working for large developer clients on projects in the hundreds of millions.

I'd give anything to work with a ballsy visionary with liquid cash, so I am a big fan of Mr. Pickens' efforts.

Getting these things done by committee or by government would take decades, so even a false start is A start.

These eye sores blot the countryside as you approach Midland/Odessa for the Southeast. I'll bet they won't be any prettier when the blades fall off or the towers start to rust.

it's gonna take a while to wean texas from the teat of black gold, much more the nation. right now were going through the tantrum stage.

lighten up on the misspell that's not the point. the point is do something; drive less, make your hot water from solar, turn down your heater, buy and promote energy saving products. you don't have to spend 2 billion to make a difference.

Pickens was interviewed on PBS radio tonight. He said the project will go through but not until 2013.

I heard Bush has done the same thing in Paraguay. That the ranch he purchased is over a massive aquifer. Paraguay should kick Bush out and re-take the aquifer.

Beyond disappointing . Evil .

Good for him. Why in the hell should he pay for the crap when the good ole sit on your butt and wait for your welfare check liberals will get the money to build it via obamanation

We are now starting to see how these alternate energy sources are not going to automatically be the solution. It will take many more years of research and planning to increase productivity before the United States and the World truly moves away from oil and fossil fuels.

if you're not from texas or surrounding farming states (or a geographer that knows about water rights and the land he specifically bought), then you don't have a clue why this pisses people off right now. he bought the specific land (paying off individuals and farmers and ranchers) solely for the water rights. we were not ignorant - we knew this was coming.. "ohhh, sorry, now that i have the rights to the water and have drilled holes to the aquifer that drains necessary life from many states farmers, i believe i might have the wrong plot".. this is ridiculous. it's seriously criminal. i'd like to see state governments intervene. what an ass. i've always been for wind energy and have even thought about investing in it, but when this guy set the specific boundaries and outlay that he bought and after looking at GIS maps - it's incredible what he's doing. i'm more pissed that probably nothing can be done. man - what an ass.

i also have to note - the money isn't in wind energy, it's in water. as a billionaire investor, you all know that he knows this and has always been two steps ahead. don't be duped - be smart and realize what he's doing.

Exxon-Mobil earned record profits of *fifty billion dollars* last year. How much have they invested in non-polluting, earth-friendly energy projects? Yeah, right. Their interest is in preserving the choke-collar they have around the necks of the public and the politicians.

Think what investment in an adequate electrical transmission system would mean for this country: immediate jobs, longer term freedom from foreign oil, security -- not just from domestic or foreign terrorists, but also the natural and inevitable deterioration of our infrastructure -- and saving our planet and our cities and our descendants from disaster.

Why's everyone bitching? He's going to build the farms....just not right this minute, possibly not right where he said...and it seemed to me that he had a decent reason "In Texas, the problem lies in getting power from the proposed site in the Panhandle to a distribution system, Pickens said in an interview with The Associated Press in New York. He'd hoped to build his own transmission lines but he said there were technical problems." Perhaps I'm confused :-(

Tell me what other "ass" you know spent $2b on nearly 700 giant wind turbines? Obviously he would do anything he could to get the energy transmitted from the panhandle. At least he is getting the eco-ball rolling and every sector is affected by oil prices, this time, low oil prices making it less profitable. At least be glad a seasoned oil man took the leap out of the barrel..

WOW ! Nobody likes the big T.

what an ass.

Greenwashing water stealer.

dude this guy? really america we're waiting to be saved by a private "businessman" again?
Hey pickens, why not go for geothermal energy?

The most informed Texan and still no concept of a spellchecker...god bless the great state of irony

WOW! I didn't know you could "abadon" anything!