wkmac
Well-Known Member
This is kinda on a different subject but it relates to oil prices. I know T. Boone Pickens is not a name that gives a warm and fuzzy feeling and I'd kinda concur with that on some levels. However, recently in a speech of his that I read, he proposed using wind power in a rather unique way that I'd like to throw out. I don't have the speech in front of me so I hope you won't mind a paraphase of it.
Pickens studied the prevailing wind patterns of the US and found that the corridor from the Texas/La. gulf coast to the Canadian border provided an area where you could install wind generators (megawatt) and if connected to the national gird, would generate over 20% of the nation's electrical needs. OK, that's good but it gets better depending on your POV. With that 20%, it's enough to eliminate the need of all natural gas fired generating plants nationwide so you idle those plants (I know the coal but just wait a minute) and then divert the natural gas over to the transportation market, more spefically, fleet vehicles like buses, police cars and maybe even UPS and FedEx vehicles.
2 positives would come from this. The first would be a low carbon emission would be replaced with a zero carbon emission energy source (in theory so don't go playing "gotcha") so there's your first gain so to speak. The 2nd is the natural gas transfer to transportation which replaces a high carbon emission fuel source with a lower carbon emission fuel source so again you have that gain but now by adding natural gas to the transportation mix, we've increased supply without drilling for a drop of oil if you will or begging the "
s" for more production.
Now granted there is a lot in this mix that can be debated or discussed but on the surface it has both a supply appeal and a green appeal. My guess is that Pickens would most likely recieve special gov't sanction and benefits for this, corp. welfare if you will, and he may be looking at making some $$$$ off the carbon offsets but all that conspiracy theory aisde, my point is that people are throwing around some rather interesting ideas out there other than just drilling and staying on oil. Richard Branson is also spending vast sums of his own money looking for alternatives. I posted recently about the bacteria created that eats garbage and craps oil. I mean people are really starting to think outside the box as this crisis grows so let's not stop that wonderful process on innovation. At the same time don't read any of this to mean that I'm against drilling and energy independence because I'm all for that. It's another reason Pickens idea has some appeal but this thing is way early in life and a long way to go so it's gotta play out for now I guess.
I'll try and find the article about his speech and post the link but I just wanted to pass on the basic gest of the idea that people are starting to think outside the box in the midst of our current situation so be careful to not kill that innovative need that does exist at this time with gov't over reach.
It's time we began to move beyond whale oil ourselves!
Pickens studied the prevailing wind patterns of the US and found that the corridor from the Texas/La. gulf coast to the Canadian border provided an area where you could install wind generators (megawatt) and if connected to the national gird, would generate over 20% of the nation's electrical needs. OK, that's good but it gets better depending on your POV. With that 20%, it's enough to eliminate the need of all natural gas fired generating plants nationwide so you idle those plants (I know the coal but just wait a minute) and then divert the natural gas over to the transportation market, more spefically, fleet vehicles like buses, police cars and maybe even UPS and FedEx vehicles.
2 positives would come from this. The first would be a low carbon emission would be replaced with a zero carbon emission energy source (in theory so don't go playing "gotcha") so there's your first gain so to speak. The 2nd is the natural gas transfer to transportation which replaces a high carbon emission fuel source with a lower carbon emission fuel source so again you have that gain but now by adding natural gas to the transportation mix, we've increased supply without drilling for a drop of oil if you will or begging the "
s" for more production.Now granted there is a lot in this mix that can be debated or discussed but on the surface it has both a supply appeal and a green appeal. My guess is that Pickens would most likely recieve special gov't sanction and benefits for this, corp. welfare if you will, and he may be looking at making some $$$$ off the carbon offsets but all that conspiracy theory aisde, my point is that people are throwing around some rather interesting ideas out there other than just drilling and staying on oil. Richard Branson is also spending vast sums of his own money looking for alternatives. I posted recently about the bacteria created that eats garbage and craps oil. I mean people are really starting to think outside the box as this crisis grows so let's not stop that wonderful process on innovation. At the same time don't read any of this to mean that I'm against drilling and energy independence because I'm all for that. It's another reason Pickens idea has some appeal but this thing is way early in life and a long way to go so it's gotta play out for now I guess.
I'll try and find the article about his speech and post the link but I just wanted to pass on the basic gest of the idea that people are starting to think outside the box in the midst of our current situation so be careful to not kill that innovative need that does exist at this time with gov't over reach.
It's time we began to move beyond whale oil ourselves!
(and I still go there)
