T. Boone Pickens scraps huge wind farm
07-11-2009, 05:46 PM
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http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/st...06/daily55.html
Oil billionaire Thomas Boone Pickens Jr. has dropped plans to build a giant wind farm in the Texas Panhandle.
Pickens, who made much of his fortune buying up oil and gas companies in the 1980s, put off the wind power project because of the difficulty of getting credit for it in the sour economy.
He’d planned a 4,000-megawatt complex that might cost as much as $10 billion, and Mesa Power, his company, has already ordered 667 wind turbines for it, though they won’t be delivered for several years.
One problem facing the huge project in Pampa, on U.S. Highway 60 northeast of Amarillo, was a lack of heavy transmission lines needed to link any wind generators to the power grid.
“The capital markets have dealt us all a setback,” said Pickens in a statement emailed to the San Francisco Business Times through his PR firm. “I am committed to 667 wind turbines and I am going to find projects for them.”
Though Pickens made his money in oil, he has worked in recent years to end this country’s dependence on foreign oil. He’s put forward plans for widespread use of natural gas vehicles, for example (though they haven’t always been well-received) as well as pushing for wind power.
Pickens said he hasn’t abandoned the project. “I expect to continue development of the Pampa project, but not at the pace that I originally expected,” he said
Oil billionaire Thomas Boone Pickens Jr. has dropped plans to build a giant wind farm in the Texas Panhandle.
Pickens, who made much of his fortune buying up oil and gas companies in the 1980s, put off the wind power project because of the difficulty of getting credit for it in the sour economy.
He’d planned a 4,000-megawatt complex that might cost as much as $10 billion, and Mesa Power, his company, has already ordered 667 wind turbines for it, though they won’t be delivered for several years.
One problem facing the huge project in Pampa, on U.S. Highway 60 northeast of Amarillo, was a lack of heavy transmission lines needed to link any wind generators to the power grid.
“The capital markets have dealt us all a setback,” said Pickens in a statement emailed to the San Francisco Business Times through his PR firm. “I am committed to 667 wind turbines and I am going to find projects for them.”
Though Pickens made his money in oil, he has worked in recent years to end this country’s dependence on foreign oil. He’s put forward plans for widespread use of natural gas vehicles, for example (though they haven’t always been well-received) as well as pushing for wind power.
Pickens said he hasn’t abandoned the project. “I expect to continue development of the Pampa project, but not at the pace that I originally expected,” he said
07-13-2009, 06:28 AM
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The main problem with wind farms is all the people that want them, don't want to live with them once they are done.. The same type of people that campaigned for them in Southern Alberta, are the same people now rallying against them as noisey bird killers...
Not that Pickens will be living under it, but you can bet once the first 30 are up, he will face local opposition where ever he builds.
Not that Pickens will be living under it, but you can bet once the first 30 are up, he will face local opposition where ever he builds.
07-13-2009, 07:38 AM
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NIMBY!
Everybody wants energy. We demand it. But nobody wants wind turbines, or a coal-fired generator, or a nuclear plant in their backyard. Hell, if and when photovoltaics finally becomes economically viable, people are gonna bitch about 'em 'cause they're ugly!
Everybody wants energy. We demand it. But nobody wants wind turbines, or a coal-fired generator, or a nuclear plant in their backyard. Hell, if and when photovoltaics finally becomes economically viable, people are gonna bitch about 'em 'cause they're ugly!
07-14-2009, 06:44 PM
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the largest windfarm in europe is prty much out my back yard and its one of the most beutifull works of engineering never mind usefull
140-turbine Whitelee wind farm in East Renfrewshire would generate 322MW at full capacity and provide enough power for 180,000 homes.
The company, which is owned by Spanish energy giant Iberdrola, said that it was also seeking to expand the site and add a further 81 turbines with an additional 270MW of capacity.
140-turbine Whitelee wind farm in East Renfrewshire would generate 322MW at full capacity and provide enough power for 180,000 homes.
The company, which is owned by Spanish energy giant Iberdrola, said that it was also seeking to expand the site and add a further 81 turbines with an additional 270MW of capacity.
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