The fantasy driving green power
Actually, Pickens is much closer to the Republican solution that Friedman is willing to admit. What the Republicans are trying to do is make exploration of oil reserves available for production at the same time they support alternative energy. This is also what the majority of voters want. It also happens to be Pickens position....
Pickens made clear to me over breakfast last week that he was tired of waiting for Washington to produce a serious energy plan. So his company, Mesa Power, is now building the world’s largest wind farm in the Texas Panhandle, where he’s spent $2 billion buying land and 700 wind turbines from General Electric — the largest single turbine order ever. The U.S. could secure 20 percent of its electricity needs from wind alone.
But Pickens knows he’s unique. Unless, he says, “Congress adopts clear, predictable policies” — with long-term tax incentives and infrastructure — so thousands of investors can jump into clean power, we’ll never get the scale we need to break our addiction. For a year, Senate Republicans have been blocking such incentives for wind and solar energy. They vote again next week.
If only we had a Congress and president who, instead of chasing crazy schemes like offshore drilling and releasing oil from our strategic reserve, just sat down with Boone and Shai and asked one question: “What laws do we need to enact to foster 1,000 more like you?” Then just do it, and get out of the way.
As for electric cars, there are several people trying to make them viable in the US too. The Chevy Volt has potential if the company can meet its schedule. But, it make so sense not to drill for oil where ever we can find it, rather than sending the money to people who are not going to reinvest it in this country. The oppostion to drilling is just not very smart. Not drilling is a gift to OPEC and other people who don't like us.
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