"The Pickens Plan"

[margomaps]

Maybe everyone has already heard about this, but here's a brief recap for those who haven't.  A somewhat famous oil tycoon, "T. Boone Pickens" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._Boone_Pickens,_Jr.), the 100-and-something richest person in the US, just released what is being called "The Pickens Plan".  Basically he wrapped up all the modern arguments -- good ones and silly ones -- advocating the reduction of US consumption of oil, and in particular foreign oil: national security, economic independence, carbon footprint, pollution, etc.

His proposed solution ("The Pickens Plan") is to invest massively in other power generation methods, most notably wind power.  He talks about the corridor stretching from west Texas up to the Canadian border as the "Saudi Arabia of Wind", a reference to the vast potential for wind-power generation in that region.  He wants to use wind turbines to take the place of the 22% or so of the US's electrical power that is produced with natural gas, and shift the natural gas to be used in LNG/CNG vehicles -- ultimately providing more than 1/3 the fuel for transportation in the US.  That would then result in a massive decrease in demand for oil, which would supposedly have all the benefits he outlines (security, environmental, etc.).  For the remaining use of oil, he advocates tilting the balance back to domestic production rather than importing so much.

A lot of what he says makes good sense, in a sort of "Well yeah, duh" kind of way.  He has a website up to promote the plan:

http://www.pickensplan.com/

However, then things get goofy.  If you didn't guess it by now, Mr. Pickens owns a wind power company.  He also owns a natural gas company.  And obviously he has major interest in domestic oil companies.  It's not too hard to see that he stands to profit greatly if his plan is implemented.  Of course this alone does not mean that his ideas are bad -- only that one should scrutinize his motives carefully.

It's clear that he's waging a PR campaign to muster public support for his plan.  If I had to guess, I would say that he probably hopes to have his plan discussed (favorably) by McCain and Obama in the upcoming election.  He wants to leverage public opinion and put pressure on politicians to do something which will allow his plan to come to fruition.  So immediately I start wondering what kind of government intervention and subsidies he's hoping for.  Then I read this quote of his in the WSJ:

"I believe my plan can be accomplished within 10 years if this country takes decisive and bold steps immediately. This plan dramatically reduces our dependence on foreign oil and lowers the cost of transportation. It invests in the heartland, creating thousands of new jobs. It substantially reduces America's carbon footprint and uses existing, proven technology. It will be accomplished solely through private investment with no new consumer or corporate taxes or government regulation. It will build a bridge to the future, giving us the time to develop new technologies."

So now I'm thinking, "Wow!  This guy is the real deal.  He sees that our energy situation is all mucked up, wants to help fix it, and is going to put his money where his mouth is.  He may profit handsomely if it works out, and least he's not relying on government largesse to get it done."  Then, in the very next sentence he continues on:

"The future begins as soon as Congress and the president act. The government must mandate the formation of wind and solar transmission corridors, and renew the subsidies for economic and alternative energy development in areas where the wind and sun are abundant. I am also calling for a monthly progress report on the reduction in foreign oil imports, as well as a monthly progress report on the state of development of natural gas vehicles in this country.[/b]"

My jaw dropped.  His previous paragraph was a complete lie.  He does want government regulation, and in fact he's depending on it, along with subsidies and eminent domain.  So when he wages his PR battle and gets people to push his "Pickens Plan", he's really recruiting an army of supporters who will lobby congress on his behalf to fatten his already fat wallet.  It's genius, really, and his timing is sublime.  He stepped in at just the right moment to pull this off.  He's going to galvanize liberals, conservatives, environmentalists, and all manner of people to hound their representatives in congress to implement the Pickens Plan.

At least, that's how I see it.  Anyone have a different take?   

[KBCraig]

I think you got it right. It's no different from Texas Gov. Rick Perry saying out of one side of his mouth that the Trans-Texas Corridor (AKA "NAFTA Superhighway", AKA "Expressway of the North American Union") is just a regular public highway system, while out of the other side of his mouth claiming it's not costing the taxpayers money because it's a private venture of Cintra-Zachary.

An entrepreneur and investor in wind, oil, and natural gas has perfectly pure motives in calling for increased reliance on those sources of energy, as opposed to imported petroleum. But the moment he calls for government force (either in the form of mandates, or prohibitions) in order to increase his market share, he's just a thug looking to hire government guns to get his way.