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An Oilman's Bet Against Oil
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On Sunday's "Meet the Press," Al Gore drew some distinctions between his plan and Pickens's vision for U.S. energy but added: "I don't see him as a competitor on this. There are really a lot of common features in what he's saying."
McCain, by contrast, made a slightly sulky reference to the oil magnate while talking about the importance of renewable energy during a town-hall meeting last week in Warren, Mich. "I'm glad Mr. Pickens is spending some of his money to advertise and have his face on television here," McCain said. "Good."
Pickens wouldn't be Pickens if he didn't have some money at stake. He has plans for a $10 billion, 4,000-megawatt wind farm that would be the world's biggest. He has contracted to buy $2 billion in wind turbines from General Electric. Acquaintances disagree about whether it's a case of Pickens putting his money where his mouth is or putting his mouth where his money is.
He said he will go ahead with or without government help, but the government could certainly help. If Congress extends the production tax credit for wind, that would be worth hundreds of millions or more to his project over a period of years. Pickens also said he is planning to buy right of way for a 250-mile power line to carry half of the wind farm's power to the Texas electricity grid. There, it would meet a new line financed by Texas. He would still need an interstate line to carry the rest of the wind farm's power to other markets.
In addition, Pickens has long advocated natural gas vehicles. He invested in a company that went public as Clean Energy, a firm that provides the fuel for natural-gas-fired vehicle fleets. There are only 142,000 natural-gas-fueled vehicles in the United States.
But Pickens insisted, "I'm not here trying to get anything for myself." He runs a hedge fund, BP Capital, that has made far more money than anything he did as an oil executive. It manages $7 billion in assets, about half or more of which is his own. He has already given away $700 million, he said, including $165 million to his alma mater, Oklahoma State University and $50 million to each of two Texas medical centers.
Instead, he said, this is about the nation's interest. "If $7 trillion go out of this country in 10 years, you can quit talking about health care," he said. "You're going to be broke."
Staff writer Juliet Eilperin contributed to this report.
