Pickens Plan?

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TrainTrac

TrainTrac

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Anyone looked at the Pickens Plan, as promoted by T. Boone Pickens? He testified before Congress about it today. The basic gist of it is to build a ton of windmills from Canada to Mexico all down throught the Great Plains to harness wind power and shift the nation's electricity generation to wind power. The other part of his plan is to shift to autos powered by natural gas. According to his plan, both of these changes can reduce the U.S.'s dependence on foreign oil by 30% if the plan's implemented over the next 10 years.



It sounds very noble and admirable, but I can't help but think that his motivation is more personal and financial, because he's already heavily invested in wind power in North Texas.
 


It sounds very noble and admirable, but I can't help but think that his motivation is more personal and financial, because he's already heavily invested in wind power in North Texas.
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Even if it is personal, at least he is stepping up with some possible solutions to a problem that is just going to get worse...
 
Even if his motovations are self centered his ideas are sound ones. I dont know about natural gas for cars but I do not see anything wrong with the wind generators at all. Of course I would also add that any new construction be it personal houses or business would need to install solar pannels to add to the electric grid.
 
The only question I have about wind turbines is the possible effects they might have on the weather.
 
I just read an interesting article in the paper the other day about wind power.

Each megawatt of wind power costs about $53 to generate, making it more expensive than coal, nuclear or natural gas generation
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It's going to cost a lot of money before we see any results.
 
Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking him if his motivations are somewhat self-centered. He's already made his fortune by being a good capitalist/businessman, and that's the American way. So he's just doing what he does best. And his plan could potentially employ many people throughout the country.



I think something like this, along with actually implementing a sound plan for domestic oil production and building more nuclear power plants would be a better way to go. Those two combined would drastically reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil.



The sad part is that like has happened with nuke power over the last several decades, wind farms are also beginning to come up against the "not in my back yard" brick wall in many places around the country.
 
The only question I have about wind turbines is the possible effects they might have on the weather.
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How do you think that windmills could possibly effect weather?:huh:
 
Agreed. The Navy has been employing nuclear power for over 50 years safely. The rest of the country should follow suit. Admiral Rickover left an amazing legacy.
 
That is right, the US Navy is very successful with it too. The company that builds them does a very good job at it too.





Tom
 
Go nuke, I agree. I still ride one of Rickover's legacy machines and they're safe and clean. You get nuked more flying than from the plants these days.
 
That is right, the US Navy is very successful with it too. The company that builds them does a very good job at it too.
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The company's quality control is second-to-none, right?:)
 
There are a lot of windmills in Oklahoma. It is one solution, but I don't think it will replace coal or oil anytime soon.



There are a lot of LPG vehicles in Europe. They seem to be a pain, since they can't be self-serve stations, and the fill-up procedure is pretty painful. People also complain of a short range before a fill-up is required again.



Nuclear power is a good option, however if the energy companies can't get a permit to build oil refineries, getting one for a nuclear plant would be impossible.



The last to posts are just plain frightening. I have visions of Chernobyl.
 
The last to posts are just plain frightening. I have visions of Chernobyl.
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That is not a fair comparison. That is like saying I will not drive because people die every day driving them.



Have you ever seen a natural gas boiler explode? Bet you havent. Know why? Because it doesn't make news like a nuke plant would. A friend used to work for one of the world leaders in boiler manufacturing. He was there after a boiler exploded. A 2 ton manway was blown 3 miles from the plant. It crashed through the house of a family eating dinner.



Chernobyl was a dangerous plan from the start. The USSR had used garbage metal.



Get a highly skilled workforce, quality materials, a QA department that will not allow production to cut corners, and government oversite on the whole operation.



What you will get is a safe and reliable plant that will produce clean electricity for years per fueling.



Do you think all the nuclear ships out at sea that have been in operation for the past 50 years are unsafe?





Tom
 
If we are going to do anything we better get it done quick, as time is running out.

We have got to bring the greens to thier knees, screw them.

Is 100 Billion barrels of crude off the kali coast, lets drill for it.

Nelson,Russian tech is light yrs behind ours, Chernobyl or love canal will not happen.

Is 100s of Billions of Barrels of crude in north American and Canadian Shale fields, lets process it.

100s of billions of barrels of crude in Alaska,we have exterminated 100s of animals in this country in the past 200 yrs, so maybe it is time to kiss off the Caribou.

Gas in my local has dropped 30 cents a gal in the past two week, conservation is helping.

Refineries are not refining because we now have a gas glut.

Keep conserving and stop talking, this country needs to do something now, because we are maybe two years away from a total finanial collapes like the world has never seen.

Whatever funds you may have,get them into FDIC insured institutions.
 
He can't do it alone, but if he can do it, and make money doing it, others will follow very quickly. Remember, nobody is going to do this to lose money, they expect and deserve a profit, and if it's cheaper than oil/gassoline, and gets us energy independent, then I say, let him make the money for his innovation and thinking outside the box.



It's highly unlikely that someone is going to develope something in their garage that will make the USA energy independent. It;s going to take someone with a lot of money and/or financial backing to make it happen



...Rich
 
Has anyone notice oil price has drop $20 a barrel since Bush has lifted the band on off shore drilling ? It would drop another $50 a barrel if congress would lift their band on off shore drilling. But the liberials will not do it because it might made Bush look good. I'm gone Chip:D
 

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