Honest OIL MAN ? Huckster for WIND POWER?

I don't believe in the viability of wind power because it is not dependable, steady, or consistent. I read an article awhile back detailing why wind power was not a good alternative which detailed several problems associated with it. Part of the problem was that the wind doesn't always produce power, another was the power levels are not steady, another is that there is no way to store the excess power on a windy day, and then there was that the power fluctuations could be damaging to utility equipment and home appliances. I don't think we should listen blindly to anyone, instead we should make our own decisions based on our own research and information.

Whether you want to listen to him or not depends on you. However, even though he is an "oil man"; I cannot believe that he has not diversified and wind, solar, and natural gas would all be areas that he would be familiar with. Wind power, as it stands today, is capable of taking the "load" off the power plants during peak hours (daylight hours). I live in a windy area and with a few exceptions the pattern of wind is that it is very still and calm in the early morning until the sun has been up for a couple of hours; then, wind starts to blow and it continues throughout the day until the earth has cooled down after dark. Storm fronts are obviously the exception to the rule. If we had more wind farms generating electricity it would reduce the cost of electricity during peak times and reduce the amount of fuel needed to produce a steady supply of electricity. This is not a bad thing. However, the best bet for using wind power to produce reliable 24/7 energy is the "contained tornado" plant which you mentioned earlier in a previous post. It will take time to get these plants built, proven, and on-line; but, they have the potential to provide reliable electrity 24/7. Wind power has great potential; but, we need to work on better ways to harness it. If we could harness, collect, and store the energy generated in a SINGLE Cat 2 hurricane; we would have enough electrical energy to supply the entire United States with electricity for an ENTIRE YEAR. That is a lot of energy; but, right now we do not have the means to take advantage of it. We definately need more research on wind power. I would also like to point out that T. Boone Pickens is actually promoting the use of natural gas as a fuel for automobiles. Some individuals, companies, and even local governments are already doing that and they are saving money.

T.Boone Pickens is a great guy, and can do whatever he wants to do with his money. He can build all the wind mills, but that will not lower the price of oil by one cent. Unless electricity is being made by oil wind power has no effect on gas. T.Boone Pickens is using his position as a powerful oilman and the raising price of gas to convience you to make your local politicans support taxes on coal power plants. It is what it is, and T.Boone Pickens is a businessman. He need you to buy his electricity and not from some coal powered plant. We should not listen to him for one minute, which is about how long his commericals are on Fox News that he is running. Think about why is he running it on a Conservative news channel. Why not some channel that is proud to be green. Because he is using his oilmen to sell Republicans on the "greatness" of wind power. Of course it his wind power.

Interesting fella Mr. Pickens. Some very valid points and scary numbers. I don't know enough about wind power to comment, but I have to believe that there is some validity to its use. Mr. Pickens has indeed been around for a long time and likely knows a bit more than just oil. I would love to see more natural gas cars available to the general public. I have worked with some clients that have converted their fleets successfully and saved.